Distant Serenity
by Emilia Christine
Summary: Sequel to Dreamt of Paradise. One year after Sam jumped in the pit, Natalie has managed to lead as much of a normal life as she possibly could. But, she learns that Sam is alive and there is something off about him. He's soulless. Now Natalie and Dean have to get his soul back and deal with the repercussions that come with it. Sam/OC pairing. Season 6. *BEING EDITED*
1. Chapter 1 EDITED

_A/N: I'M BACK! And with me I bring you all the next installment in my series. I'm really excited about the turnout for this story and I hope you all are too! The flashbacks will be italicized. Without further a do, let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>The comforting and peaceful silence was interrupted by a sharp ringing coming from a cell phone, resting on a nightstand. A hand reached up, searching for the phone, missing it a couple times by a few inches, when it finally found it and shut off the alarm. Natalie moved onto her stomach, allowing her eyes to rest for a few more seconds, wanting to stay in bed for just a moment longer. Footsteps down the hall told Natalie that Marina was already up, getting ready to go to work, which meant she needed to get up as well.<p>

Groaning, Natalie pushed herself up and let out a long yawn. Pulling the covers away from her body, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. After her legs adjusted to being used, Natalie shuffled walked towards the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, she quickly undressed and stepped in, closing the shower curtain. Natalie stood under the shower head, her hand leaning against the wall in front of her, allowing the hot water to stream down her body. Her muscles began to relax and her eyes closed, allowing herself to soak in the relaxation even more. Her right hand slowly moved down to her side, where her fingers began to gently brushed over the scar that had been left after she was shot. Apparently when Castiel healed her, he didn't heal all of her. Soon, she felt herself begin to slip back into sleep, her head slowly hanging down.

_The grip on her jacket was strong as she was yanked up to her feet and pushed against the car. Her body was ablaze with a protesting burning that traveled throughout her entire body. Her eyes focused on the face that she was so used to seeing adorned with kindness and understanding for every little situation. Now it had been replaced by coldness and a chilling emptiness, no emotion was readable from what she saw._

_His hand reached down and slowly pulled out the knife that she had tucked in her belt line and held it to her face. Panic was all she felt as she tried to push him away from her. The pain came so quickly. It was a hot, white, blinding pain that shot through her. He pulled out the knife and stabbed her again, this time, she made no attempt to hold back her screams. The pain had become so unbearable that the thought of holding back anything, didn't prove to be a good choice to her. Looking up into those cold eyes, Natalie could feel her world crashing around her. "Sam."_

Natalie's eyes shot open, coinciding with a sharp gasp. The hot water still running down her back, she wondered how long she had been like that for. Most likely only a few minutes, but it felt like hours to her. Her eyes felt itchy and swollen, telling her that she had been crying. Natalie shook her head and proceeded with washing her hair.

Showers, nowadays, have become nothing more than just something that Natalie needed to do. She got through them mindlessly, since she would always be whisked away into her clouded thoughts, which consisted of only two things. The Apocalypse and Sam. That is all she would think about. Every second of everyday was spent on that. She never moved on from it.

Though, Clara and Marina would say to her that she has gotten much better and it was the truth. Natalie was much better off compared to how she was only a month after the events of last year. Natalie was still slowly merging herself on the path of moving on. But the thing is, it all still hurt. She still grieved over Sam. Mourned the fact that they never had the chance to really be together and it killed Natalie. The effect that it had on Natalie, surprised her, especially when it changed her personality.

Only a month after Sam jumped, there was a drastic change in her behavior. Horrible mood swings and violent tantrums were almost a daily occurrence with her. Her capability to handle the pain and grief, proved to actually be to much for her. Bobby had been called to come out several times, in an attempt to calm her, but it would only be a temporary relief.

At one point, Clara was tempted to contact Dean, but Natalie told her not to. _"Dean, is living his own life. Leave him alone." _Natalie would tell her, he was dealing with it in his own way and bringing him into Natalie's own grief would only prove to be a huge burden on him. All of her buried feelings that dealt with her father, mother, brother and now Sam, were all mushing together and she was facing them all at once. But, she was going to face them alone.

Natalie turned off the shower and opened the curtains, grabbing the towel from the rack, she wrapped it around her body and stepped out of the shower. Opening the bathroom door, she walked out into her room, pulled her clothes from the dresser and set them down on her bed. Removing the towel from her body, she covered it over her hair and began to pat it dry a couple of times. Throwing the towel on the bed, she quickly got dressed and walked back into the bathroom, picked up a comb and brushed it through her hair a couple of times.

Once she was satisfied, Natalie walked out of the bathroom and towards her bedroom door and opened it. Marina had already been making her way towards the room and stopped. "Hey. So I tried feeding her, but she wouldn't take anything from me. I'm sure she will from you." Marina said, fixing her shirt.

Natalie gave her sister a small smile. "Don't worry Mari. I've got it under control. I've done this, how many times now?"

Marina nodded. "Right." Marina stepped forward and gave Natalie a quick, but, tight hug. "Thank you, Nad."

"You don't need to thank me, Mari." Natalie said, pulling away from the hug.

"I know, but still, I need to." Marina kissed her sister on the forehead. "I'll see you after work, love you!" She called out as she ran down the stairs and rushed out the front door.

Natalie stood in the hallway a second longer then walked down a little bit and turned to a closed door, her hand reached down and turned the handle. Upon opening the door, Natalie was greeted by the all to familiar cream colored walls that gleamed from the sunlight that streamed through the windows. Small shelves decorated several spaces on the walls. On these shelves were quite a few different things. A lot of pictures that had been taken at various points during the year, while another had a few small stuffed animals sitting on them.

On the left side of the room there was a decent sized white dresser and next to it was a changing table that was the same color as the dresser. And towards the back center of the room, near the windows, was a white crib with a mesh lining and a pale yellow sheet covered the small mattress. Inside this crib a small baby, no more than six months old, was resting on it's back, waiting for someone to pick them up.

Natalie walked over to the crib and peered down, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Hey, Emily." Natalie said as she reached down and gently picked up the six month old. She held Emily close to her chest, balancing the baby on her hip. "Let's go downstairs and get you some food."

Natalie walked out of the room and carefully made her way down the steps, mildly distracted by Emily placing her hand on various parts of Natalie's face, which was only met by Natalie's small laughs.

Once they reached the kitchen, Natalie set Emily down in her high chair and popped the table on then tied on Emily's bib. Grabbing a cutting board and knife, Natalie took a banana and peeled off the skin, then proceeded to cut up the fruit in tiny chunks, then placed them in a small bowl. She walked over to the high chair and set the bowl down in front of Emily, who then happily began to eat the pieces of fruit.

Her phone began to go off and she pulled it out of her pocket, while pulling up a chair and sitting in front of Emily. Turning on her phone, she saw an incoming phone call from Suzie. Natalie answered and put the phone against her ear.

"Hey, Suzie."

"_Nad. What are you doing today?"_

Natalie picked up a piece of banana and fed it to Emily. "Well, the usual. Watching Emy, why?"

"_Well, I'm off for today, and I thought that you and I should meet up."_

"Suzie, I'm watching Emy and I don't know, I don't really feel like going out today." Natalie reminded her.

"_Oh come on, Nad. You spend so much time cooped up in that house, you need to get out more."_

Natalie laughed as she fed Emily another piece of fruit. "Oh, do I now?"

"_Yes, you do. You can bring Emily with you to. Please, Nad?"_

Natalie hung her head back. "Okay, fine. Where do you wanna meet?"

"_How about we just meet at the park? Twenty minutes? Then we'll figure out what to do next."_

"Okay, sounds great. I'll meet you there." Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call. She turned her attention back towards Emily as she fed her the last few pieces of fruit. "How do you feel about going to the park?" Natalie asked as Emily gave her a smile. Natalie stood and loosened the chair's table and lifted Emily out. "Let's get you ready then."

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><p>Natalie sat on the park bench, gently rocking the stroller with her foot since Emily fell asleep right as they arrived. Though she had to admit, she was glad that she agreed to meet Suzie here. Getting out of the house was something that Natalie knew she needed, but never had the motivation to actually do it. Natalie looked down at the stroller, seeing Emily slowly waking up. She bent down and unhooked the belt and lifted her out of the stroller. She stood Emily up on her lap, as she leaned her hands against Natalie's shoulders to support herself.<p>

"You're getting so big, you know that?" Natalie said, though it was more to herself than to Emily. "It seems like only yesterday that you were born. I remember Aunt Clara and I were out of town...and I got the call from your daddy saying that your mommy was going to have you. We both came here as fast as we could. And when I first saw you...you were the cutest little thing I had ever seen."

Emily seemed to understand what Natalie was saying as a huge smile appeared and she began to bounce up and down. Natalie moved her hands to hold her around the waist to keep her from losing her balance.

"You've helped me so much, Emy. I don't think you'll ever know, how much." Natalie kissed Emily's forehead.

"Hey!" Natalie looked over at Suzie, who was standing next to them. She leaned down and smiled at Emily. "Look at you!" Holding her arms out, Natalie gently handed Emily to her and she balanced Emily on her hip. "You are so big compared to the last time I saw you."

Suzie sat down next to Natalie, settling Emily into her lap. "So, how have you been, Nad?"

Natalie gave her a look and smiled. "Fine."

Suzie gave her a doubtful look. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Because from what I've known is that the past year hasn't really been kind to you."

Natalie scoffed and shook her head. "That's an understatement."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened? I mean it's something that I've only heard your sister and Aunt mention briefly."

"Suzie...it's not really something that I like to talk about and it's...a little hard to understand."

Suzie shrugged, adjusting Emily in her lap. "It's fine. I mean I don't want to push you to talk about it...but, if you ever want to, you know I'm here."

Natalie looked at Suzie, giving her a small smile. "I know, and I really appreciate it. You never know. Someday I might actually want to sit down and talk about it."

"Well, you know where I'll be. So, when are you going get to a break from watching this little girl?" Suzie said, gazing down at the baby in her lap.

"I don't mind looking after her. But, tonight Mari and Ethan are taking Emily to visit his parents. They're gonna stay there for a little bit."

"That's good. Gives you some time to be alone. So I thought that I would buy you lunch and then maybe we could go shopping. I could buy this little girl a couple of things."

Natalie laughed. "Don't go and spoil her Suzie."

Suzie looked at Natalie, pretending to be offended. "I would never Nad." She turned and carefully handed Emily back to Natalie and stood from the bench. "Let's get going." Suzie turned around, making her way back to her car.

Natalie stood up and placed Emily back in the stroller, and as she bent down to strap her in, she felt like someone was watching them and out of the corner of her eye she spotted someone standing a little bit away from them. Natalie's body went tense at the thought that someone was watching them, but she decided to make it seem like she wasn't phased. Natalie proceeded to buckle the straps around Emily and stood back up. Her head slowly turned to her right, in the direction in which she saw someone, but found that no one was there. Her brows furrowed, thinking that she was beginning to lose her mind once again.

"It's nothing." Natalie whispered to herself. She walked around to the back of the stroller and braced her hands on the handlebar. She pushed the stroller and began to make her way back towards her car, when she slowed down and looked back at the spot, still seeing nothing. Even though she wasn't satisfied, Natalie turned back around and continued on down the sidewalk, determined to not let this distract her.

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><p>The sun was just beginning to set and back at the house, Marina was gathering everything she needed for the stay at Ethan's parent's house. Natalie walked down the stairs, a baby bag in hand, and held it up to her sister. "I think you're going to need this."<p>

Marina looked up at her sister and smiled in her own relief. "Thanks." Marina took the bag and placed it down with the others. "Good thing Ethan was in town to take us there. I don't think I have the energy to drive myself up there."

"That's why I'm glad you're going up there. Just relax, okay?"

Marina gave Natalie a look and braced her hands on Natalie's shoulders. "Nad. Are you sure that you're going to be alright? By yourself at least?"

Natalie gave her sister a nod. "I'll be fine, Mari." Natalie saw the skeptical look in her sister's eyes. "Mari, I'm serious. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. You've done enough of that for the past year."

"I had every right to be worried, Nad. I never want to see you like that ever again. It was painful for me because I knew there was nothing I could do."

Natalie nodded solemnly, knowing that this past year, Natalie wasn't the only one who had to deal with it. Marina and Clara had to deal with it as well and Natalie's behavior didn't make it any better.

"You and Aunt Clara did what you could. And I am grateful that you two were always there for me." Natalie gave Marina a forced smile. "But, everything is fine now. I'll be fine. Go and have a good time with Emy and Ethan."

The front door opened and Ethan poked his head in, halting the sister's conversation. "Hey, am I interrupting something?"

Natalie looked over at him, giving a smile and shook her head. "Nope. I think they both are ready to go."

Ethan walked in and grabbed the bags and headed back out to the car. Marina turned around and picked up the car seat in which Emily was fully asleep. Natalie walked over and leaned down, gently kissing the baby's forehead.

"You three be safe." Natalie said as she pulled her sister in for a hug.

"Take care of yourself, until I get back." Marina said as she pulled away and kissed Natalie on the forehead.

"I will. Now go." Natalie ushered her sister out the front door and stood under the doorway, watching as Marina strapped in Emily's car seat and then got into the car. Natalie gave them a smile and one final wave as Ethan drove away from the house.

Natalie's smile immediately dropped as she turned around and walked back into the house. She took out her phone and turned it on, reading the message that her Aunt had sent her.

_Omaha. 2 hours. Meet me outside of Mike's Bar and Grill._

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><p><strong>How did you all like the first chapter?! I've had this chapter drafted for some time now, I just needed to edit some of it. If I've planned it out right, the next chapter should be when she reunites with Sam and Dean. Hope you all are excited for that! Don't forget to drop me a review! OH! And what are you opinions on 'Aunt' Nad? Let me know! Xx<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all and I hope that you all had a great Fourth of July! Just to clear up the timeline, I am having Natalie reunite with Sam and Dean about a week after the events of episode 4. So when she gets back in with Sam and Dean it will pick up with episode 5._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>Natalie parked her car on the curb of the street and spotted her Aunt, on the opposite side, leaning against her car. Natalie turned off the engine and got out of the car, walking across the street, she silently hoped that she had something for her to do.<p>

"Hey, Nad." Clara finally spoke, once she had reached her.

Natalie gave her Aunt a small nod. "Hi, Aunt Clara." Natalie could see the heaviness in her Aunt's eyes and she felt really bad for her, since she knew that Clara had been working almost nonstop on trying to find their demon. "When was the last time you got a decent sleep?"

Clara laughed. "It's been a while. But, I'm fine. How are Mari and Emily?"

"They're good." Natalie said, smiling at the thought of her little niece. "Ethan picked them up a few hours ago and took them up to his parents' house. They're going to stay up there for a few days."

"Good. It gives Mari a chance to rest." Clara said.

Natalie nodded. "So, this news that you have for me. Does it have to deal with our demon or just a case?"

"It's not about the demon for once. I know that the past few months have dealt with us tracking down other demons, trying to get it's location. But, this time...I found a case here in Omaha."

Natalie raised her brows and pursed her lips. "Okay. What is it?"

"Ten missing people's reports. All happening within a three week period. I just got here a couple of days ago and I was able to piece together a few things."

"Okay, so what do you think is causing all of this?"

"My answer...a ghoul."

Natalie gave Clara a dead panned look. "Like we haven't encountered those before. Alright, what do we do now?"

"Well, I was able to track down a cemetery that is an ideal place for them to live. A huge mausoleum lies in the middle of the place...my guess, that's where they are hiding."

"Okay, Ghouls. Chop off the head and were done with them. You want to lead the way to the cemetery? Then I'll follow."

Clara nodded. "Nad. Are you alright?"

Natalie furrowed her brows and nodded. "I'm as alright as I'll ever be. The sooner I get to kill these sons of bitches, the better I'll be."

"I just want to make sure that your head is in a clear space. I don't want you going in when your mind is elsewhere. I know that I haven't been home for a couple of months...how are you really Nad?"

Natalie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not fine and yet I'm not horrible. I really don't know anymore Aunt Clara. I'd like to think that I am getting better...but, I really don't know. I think I've allowed my emotions take over for so long, now I just feel numb. Going on hunts, killing these things, is the only time I can feel myself feel anything."

"And that's what scares me, Nad. I just don't want you getting dependent on killing things mindlessly just to make yourself feel better. That's not the nature of the job." Clara said.

"You were the one who thought it would be a good idea to let me go on hunts in the first place." Natalie added.

"I was desperate to help you Nad. That first month was absolute hell. Not just for you, but for Mari and myself. I needed to find something for you to do to let go of all of that anger you had bottled up inside."

"Yeah, and you gave me that opportunity. Going on hunts this entire year, has helped me a lot."

"It's just I don't want you treating this like it's some kind of sport."

"I'm fine Aunt Clara. Besides, when we go on these hunts, I think about..." Natalie stopped, forcing herself to avert from mentioning Sam. "Thinking about everything that happened, it really helps me. I can release all of my anger. Hunting has become therapeutic...I can't help that, I'm sorry. So, please, can we go? That way we can get this done quicker."

Clara stared at her niece, silently regretting asking her to come out here. The past year, she had seen Natalie efficiently complete hunts, but the viciousness in them, concerned her deeply. And now, looking at Natalie, she could tell it was going to be the same thing tonight. "Yeah. Okay, let's go."

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><p>Clara opened the trunk of her car and pulled out two machetes, handing one over to Natalie. Natalie quickly checked over her gun and slid it back in her belt line. Picking up the machete she turned to look at Clara. "Are you ready?"<p>

Clara gave her a small smile, picking up her weapon. "You don't need to ask me that."

Clara and Natalie swiftly make their way up the pathway towards the mausoleum. Reaching the entrance, Clara pushed open the heavy iron door, shining her flashlight it, she slowly walked in allowing Natalie to trail closely behind her.

They were immediately met with a flight of stairs and they followed the steps down into the building. The stairs then split up into two directions. Clara motioned for Natalie to take the left and she would take the right. Natalie gave her Aunt a small nod, adjusting her hold on the machete, she brought her flashlight up and slowly walked on.

Natalie continued down the hall, making sure to be as quiet as she could. Every few seconds, a few noises would attract her attention, but they would turn out to be nothing. On the right hand side of the hall, she saw someone walking out from a room. She quickly pressed herself against the wall, hidden behind a small threshold. She leaned forward slightly, her head peeking out, seeing that it was one of the ghouls walking down the hallway.

Natalie tightened her grip on the machete and stepped out from behind the wall and followed him. Once she got close enough, both her hands gripped onto the handle as she raised up the weapon. The ghoul stopped at hearing one of Natalie's footsteps and turned around to face her. She quickly swung the weapon, cutting off its head in one clean swipe.

Natalie let out a huff as she watched the body slump to the knees and fall to the side. Gazing down at the body, she kicked at the ghoul's leg. "I'm feeling better already." Natalie said to herself.

From down the hall, Natalie could hear a commotion ensuing. She held the machete close to her and jogged down the hall until she came to an entryway to a huge tomb room. Over in the corner, she could see three more ghouls fighting with two people, but, she couldn't see who they were. Though, that didn't matter to her. She needed to kill the ghouls before they killed anyone else.

One of the ghouls spotted her and Natalie met his gaze. She raised the weapon up and gave the ghoul a smile. "Come and get it."

Natalie walked fully into the room, as the ghoul eyed her, she gave him another cheeky smile. The ghoul charged after her and she tightened her hold on the machete and raised it up, embedding the blade into the side of the ghoul's neck. Blood streamed out of the wound and down the ghoul's body. Natalie yanked the weapon out and made another swing, slicing the head off.

The sound of the body falling caught the attention of the two other ghouls, making them drop their holds on the people they were attacking. Natalie looked up at them and rested her foot on top of the severed head. "Oh. I just killed your friend, didn't I? You don't like that, do you?" Natalie taunted as she kicked the head away.

The remaining ghouls didn't hesitate as they ran after her, completely abandoning their previous victims. Natalie lifted her machete up and swung at one of the ghouls, cutting at its chest and dodged his attempt to grab her. Natalie faced the other ghoul only to have it grab her arms and slam her up against the wall.

Natalie made sure to keep the firm grip she had on her machete and brought her knee up, kicking the ghoul in the groin several times and pushed the creature away and quickly sliced off its head. The remaining ghoul attacked Natalie, tackling her to the ground. The machete flew from her hand and rested just a few inches from her.

The ghoul hovered over her, throwing a few punches across her face. Natalie could feel her head throb from the punches and pressed her forearm against the ghoul's throat, keeping it at bay as it tried to bite her. Natalie looked to her side and reached her arm out, trying to grab the machete. She reached her arm out farther, finally grasping the handle and stuck the blade against the side of the ghouls neck.

The weight of the ghoul on her lightened and Natalie pushed the creature off of her and pulled the machete from it's neck. She brought it up and slammed it down on the creature's face, repeatedly. The sound of flesh tearing the bone cracking was all that could be heard in the room.

Natalie continued the vicious attack, feeling blood splattering her face.

"Nad!"

Natalie came to a stop, her chest heaving with all of her adrenaline and looked up, seeing Clara staring at her, a look of horror filled her eyes. She gave her Aunt a small nod, telling her that she was fine, and wiped the ghoul's blood away from her face. But, she could feel blood dripping from her nose and her lip, which had been busted from the ghoul throwing punches at her.

"Nad?"

The familiarity of that voice caused Natalie's body to almost freeze. She slowly stumbled to her feet and turned around, seeing something that almost made her heart stop. It was Dean and..."Sam?" Her brows furrowed as Sam looked at her and she felt her head grow heavy with nausea.

Sam and Dean both look at each other, trying to ready themselves to explain this to her. "Hey, Nad." Sam finally said.

Natalie stumbled backwards, right into her Aunt, who braced her hands on her shoulders. "What the hell is going on?" Natalie asked, looking from Dean to Sam.

Dean slowly stepped forward, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "Nad. Listen, there is...quite a bit that you don't know."

"What the hell is this?!" Natalie asked again, her voice rising in volume.

Sam was the one who stepped closer. "It's me, Nad."

Natalie stared at Sam, her eyes widening the longer she looked at him. "No. No. It can't be...I-I saw you jump...you jumped into the pit...how can you—'

"I know. But, it's me, I swear." Sam said, his voice laced with a forced reassurance.

Dean could see that Natalie wasn't processing the news as best as he thought she would and moved closer towards her. "Nad. Trust me. I did the whole routine with him. Holy water, salt, iron. It's him."

Natalie looked at Dean and then to Sam, when her brows creased with confusion. She pointed at both of them. "Wait a minute. You and Sam were on a hunt?"

Dean nodded.

"So..." Natalie paused, making sure that her conclusion was correct. "You-you knew that Sam was alive?" Natalie could see Dean's face fall and a hint of guilt washed over him. She stepped forward. "You knew that Sam was alive?!"

"Nad, please, just listen—'

"You knew? How long?" Natalie called out.

Dean remained quiet for a moment and looked back up at Natalie. "A few weeks, maybe a little longer."

Natalie's eyes widened in disbelief, looking over at Sam, she could see him nodding at Dean's words, telling her that he was telling the truth. Natalie looked back at Dean, feeling her anger beginning to boil. She stepped forward and brought her hand across Dean's cheek, creating a sickening slap that resonated off the mausoleum walls.

Dean gawked at Natalie, surprised, his cheek flaring with an intense burning. Then he was met with her shoving him against his chest. But, he didn't do anything to stop her, knowing that this was probably what he deserved.

"Are you kidding me? You son of a bitch!" Natalie yelled as she gave Dean another few shoves.

Clara rushed over and grabbed Natalie, pulling her away from Dean, who had done little to defend himself. "Nad! Calm down!" Clara yelled out.

"You knew for weeks? And you didn't even tell me!" Natalie barked, trying to get herself out of her Aunt's hold.

"Nad!" Dean began, trying to calm her. "Nad, listen to me, okay? I know. I didn't tell you and I know that you are pissed."

"Pissed?" Natalie repeated, letting out a pained laugh as her eyes filled with tears. "Pissed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now, Dean!"

Sam stepped in between Dean and Natalie. "All right. Enough. Nad you just need to calm down. Clearly, the three of us need to talk about this...but, not here."

Natalie stared at Sam, her eyes wide. "Calm down?! You're telling me to calm down! Oh. You have a lot of nerve for saying that to me right now."

Sam paused for a moment and then sighed. "Just let us explain."

"Who else knew?" Natalie asked, ignoring Sam's words for the time being.

"Bobby." Sam said after a brief pause.

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape. "B-Bobby...knew." Natalie closed her eyes and allowed her head to hang. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nad. How about this? Let's meet up at Bobby's and we will talk about this. There is a lot that you need to know." Sam said once again.

Natalie pulled herself out of Clara's grasp and buried her face in her hands. She just found out that Sam was alive, Dean knew about it and now she is hearing that Bobby knew and never tried to tell her. All of this was to much, but she needed to get answers. She wanted to know the full truth.

Looking back up at the brothers she gave them a defeated look. "Fine. I think it's time that you all tell me the truth."

Clara walked over to her distressed niece, pulling her aside. "Nad. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Why not?" Natalie asked, looking up at her. "They have been keeping this from me. I want to know why they never even bothered to tell me."

Clara saw the pain and anger in Natalie's eyes and she wanted to do something to try and ease it. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Natalie quickly shook her head. "No. This is between the four of us. I want to do this alone."

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><p><strong>This chapter was short I know, but the next chapter I am almost done with so I will hopefully get it up by tomorrow, but can't make any promises. Just to clear it all up yes Sam is soulless. I know that some people wanted to see Natalie reunite with Sam when he has his soul, but I wanted Natalie to interact with Soulless Sam, because it will make for a small strain in their relationship once he gets it back. So I hope no one is upset about that.<strong>

**How did you all think about Nad's reaction? Do you think it was a little over the top? Let me know! Xx**


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I got this chapter done quicker than I thought I would, so I am giving it to you all now instead of making you wait. Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>Natalie got out of her car, seeing Sam and Dean waiting over on the porch of Bobby's house. She stood near her car, thinking whether it was a good idea for her to do this, but she needed to get all of this cleared up. Sighing, she closed the car door, sliding her hands in her jacket pockets and walked up to the porch.<p>

Dean raised his fist and knocked a couple of times. A brief moment of silence followed before the door was finally opened and Bobby was staring at the three of them. The minute his eyes landed on Natalie, his expression turned grim.

"Hey, Nad." Bobby finally said.

Natalie had to admit that it was nice to see Bobby again, but, her head was too full of confusion and anger to make this a pleasant meeting. "We obviously need to talk."

Bobby nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. We do." He stepped away from the door. "Well...come on in."

Sam and Dean walk in, though Natalie hesitated for a moment, still thinking whether all of this was actually real. Sam was alive. That was something she wanted more than anything, but, knowing what she found out back at the cemetery, she didn't know how to feel about it anymore.

Natalie pulled herself from her thoughts, seeing Bobby giving her a small hesitant smile, she took a deep breath and walked into the house. As she walked through the kitchen and into the living room, Natalie began to think about everything that took place here. Thinking about it, made it feel like it happened so long ago.

Bobby walked past Natalie and sat down at his desk chair, as Dean leaned on one of the tables and Sam sat down on the couch. All three of them were looking at Natalie, expecting her to go on some sort of rant.

Natalie could sense this as she looked at each of them. _Time to get this started. _Natalie folded her arms over her chest as she looked over at Bobby. "Bobby. Sam said that you knew he was alive." Bobby gave Natalie a small nod. "How long have you known?"

Bobby sighed, hanging his head back for a moment. "Nad, listen, I just—'

"Answer the question, Bobby." Natalie interrupted, her tone already being laced with her anger.

"I knew all year."

Natalie's brows creased at Bobby's words. "All year?" She repeated, looking over at Sam. "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that...you have been back...the entire year?!"

Sam sighed and cleared his throat. "Yes."

Natalie was a little surprised at Sam's lack of emotion while he said it. Usually, she was able to read how he was feeling, but now, she was getting nothing. "You have got to be kidding me! So you've been back this entire time, and you never even thought to pop on in and say 'oh hey, I'm not dead'!"

"Nad, listen. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get sucked back into all of this. You were living your life. You finally had the normal life that you deserved—the life that you wanted—and if I had shown up on your doorstep...I would have ruined it."

Natalie shook her head in disbelief. "I only lived this life because I promised you. You made me promise that I would go back to my Aunt and my sister. That's the only reason I did this. And I would have thought after you and I...we...I just thought you would have told me that you were back."

"I know. But, I knew that you were where you needed to be. You didn't need me, Nad. And I wasn't going to waltz right in and just take away your chance to live your life." Sam added.

"You don't get it Sam. I didn't want to lose you, but, I had to let you say yes to Lucifer. When you jumped...my entire world came apart." Natalie stared at Sam, still seeing from his expression, that he didn't seemed phased by what she was saying. He seemed so distant from her and Natalie didn't like it. "The small time that you and I had together...did it not mean anything to you?"

Sam sighed, giving Natalie a light look. "Of course it did, Nad."

"Obviously, not enough to tell me the truth." Natalie bit down on her lip, not really believing Sam's words and looked over at Dean. "You said that you only knew he was alive for maybe longer than a few weeks."

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Sam and Bobby kept us both in the dark for the entire year."

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that _you _knew Sam was alive...and the fact that you two have been hunting together. Did it ever occur to either of you that maybe you should have told me? Or were you planning on keeping me out of it? Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Nad. I wanted to tell you, but, Sam and I talked about it. We didn't want you to get screwed over again. You had already been through to much, we thought that...we should just leave you alone."

Natalie scoffed at Dean's reasoning. "You may not like the explanation, but, it's the truth." Dean said.

Natalie ran a hand through her hair, already feeling her head growing heavy with an oncoming headache. "It's a piss poor excuse, if you ask me. And what about you, Bobby?" She asked, looking over at him. "What's your excuse?"

"Nad. I didn't want to lie to you, but, you were out. No more going on hunts or almost getting yourself killed, which need I remind you, almost happened a few times. I never wanted this for you in the first place. And I was beyond happy that you were taking the chance to go home and live your life. Away from the hunting. It's all I wanted for you."

Natalie stared at Bobby, before slowly descending into a fit of laughter, but, the pain and anger could be felt by the three hunters. "You know something. I don't buy any of your explanations. You were the ones who told me in the first place that once I got in...I could never get out. Yes, I was able to live _somewhat _of a normal life, but I was never _out_. There was no way that I could ever walk away from this! So what was the damn point of this?!"

Bobby stood from his chair and walked over in front of his desk and leaned against it. "Nad, I know that it hasn't been an easy year. But, you have to understand that I—we—did this for you. As horrible as it may sound to you, I just wanted you to be safe, Nad. To not have to put your life on the line anymore."

Natalie allowed Bobby's words to sink in and began to take in deep breaths, already feeling her eyes brimming with tears. "Bobby...do you have any...idea, what this has done to me? Of course you do. Barely a month after you jumped into the pit." Natalie said to Sam. "Aunt Clara called Bobby out to her house because I was completely unstable. I was having horrible tantrums...violent ones. To the point that Mari had to leave for a while."

She looked back over at Bobby. "You saw...you saw Bobby! You saw what it was doing to me and you knew that Sam was alive. So, bascially, you just sat there and watched me breakdown, knowing the truth...and you said nothing." The tears finally broke free and began to stream down her cheeks. "How could you do that to me...the three of you. How could you keep something like this from me?!"

Silence was all that Natalie got in response. Dean and Bobby were both being eaten away by their regret and guilt. Bobby had the most. He kept this secret from Dean and Natalie, the only two people other than himself, who loved Sam more than anything. But, Natalie was kept in the dark the longest.

"Nad." Sam's voice finally pierced the silence. "You may not like what we did...we didn't want you to walk away only to get back into hunting."

Natalie huffed. "Well, sorry to burst your bubbles guys, but I have been hunting."

Bobby and Dean's eyes widened in shock, though Sam's face remained unchanged. "What do you mean you've been hunting?" Dean asked.

Natalie gave them almost a triumphant look. "Because of my tantrums...Aunt Clara thought that I needed to find a way to let out my anger. So...she and I started hunting our demon together. In-between looking for it, she would find jobs and have me take care of them. The entire year...that's what I've been doing. That's what I was doing at the mausoleum last night. So your little plan to keep me out of it...well it was useless."

"Why, Nad?" Bobby asked, his face written in guilt and confusion.

"Maybe if you had told me Sam was alive from the start...I wouldn't be going on hunts. I wouldn't be as messed up as I am now. So you three thought that keeping this a secret was helping me, well..." Natalie paused and began to clap her hands together. "Bravo you three. You did a really good job at that. Seriously. We're you _ever _going to tell me?"

Bobby, Dean and Sam all remained silent. Not knowing exactly what to say to her. They knew there was nothing they could say to make up for their actions. Natalie looked at the three of them, waiting for an answer, but received none. Natalie scoffed and shook her head. "Okay, then. I think I have my answer to that." She said and turned around to leave when Dean's voice stopped her.

"Nad. Where are you going?"

She paused and turned back to look at the three of them. "I'm going home. I can't do this, okay? I can't deal with the three of you right now. But, hey!" Natalie raised her arms up, giving them a forced smile. "Thanks for finally telling me the truth."

Natalie turned on her heels and walked out of the house. She didn't give them one last glance or one last word. She just wanted to get the hell out of there. She was confused and hurt more than anything. Yes, she was pissed that they kept this from her, but, she was hurt even more. They should know better than that. After everything they went through the past year, she thought that the four of them were on the same page. Though, she and Dean were in somewhat of the same boat. Dean was kept in the dark for the entire year just like she was. But, that didn't change the fact that he still knew Sam was alive, regardless for how long, and he kept it from her.

If anything, all Natalie wanted to do now was go home and crawl into bed. She wanted to sleep all of this off even though when she would wake up, all of her pain and anger would come right back again. She had just began to fully move on from it all and there was no doubt that this would set her back.

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><p>Natalie opened the door and slid in and leaned against the door, shutting it with her body. Clara, who was in the kitchen, walked out and saw Natalie's tear stained face.<p>

"Nad? What happened?" Clara asked.

Natalie shook her head slowly. "They all lied to me Aunt Clara."

Clara took a few steps closer. "What do you mean?"

"Sam had been alive...for the entire year...and Bobby knew about it. Bobby and Sam kept it from both Dean and I."

Clara's mouth fell agape at Natalie's words. She couldn't believe that Bobby would do that to her, especially, when he had visited Natalie and he knew the truth. "Nad...I'm so sorry."

Natalie looked at Clara, her looking hardening. "Did you know?"

Clara blinked in shock at Natalie's words. "What?"

Natalie pushed herself away from the door, leaning closer to her Aunt. "Did you know that Sam was alive?"

"Of course I didn't."

"Don't. Lie to me." Natalie said, her voice dripping with accusation and her eyes began to sting at the new round of tears.

"I'm not lying to you. Nad, If I knew that Sam was alive I would have told you. You believe me don't you?"

Natalie huffed and blinked away her tears. "I don't know what to believe anymore! I just found out that Sam was alive for a whole year and to top it all off, Bobby kept it from me and so did Dean. Sorry that I'm having a little trouble believing certain things." Natalie walked over to the couch and sat down, burying her face in her hands.

Clara sighed and walked over, sitting down next to her niece. "Let me guess, their explanations were that, they didn't want you getting back into hunting and they didn't want to take away your chance on having a real life, is that what they said?"

Natalie leaned back up, looking over at Clara. "Yeah. But, there was no point to it. I've been hunting this entire year."

"Yeah, but, Nad you have to see it from their perspective. Bobby especially. He promised your father that he would look after you, he never wanted you to get into this life, neither did your father. And when Bobby finally saw an opportunity for you to have a normal life, he was going to protect that more than anything...even if it meant keeping the fact that Sam was alive."

Natalie scoffed and wiped at her eyes to rid of the tears. "It's just that Bobby saw what it was doing to me...and he didn't say anything. He sat there, knowing how far off the deep end I was going and he didn't stop it. And don't even get me started on Sam, I mean after he and I...I just thought that he would have come back to me. But, clearly, I thought wrong."

"Nad, listen. No doubt you have been through a lot, not just with everything that happened this past year, but with your dad, mom and brother, and yet you always bounce back. And this, even though it hurts, you're gonna get through it. It's just another obstacle that you have to get through. And, who knows, maybe soon you'll be back out on the road with Sam and Dean, going on hunts."

"I don't think that's going to happen, Aunt Clara. I'm just so pissed about all of this...I don't think I'll be able to really forget it." Natalie confessed.

"I think that you will, Nad. It may take some time, but, I think that you, Dean and Sam will get back on the same path you were on before." Clara assured.

Natalie gave her Aunt a forced smile and stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna go to sleep. I just need to rest...after the day I've had." Natalie walked over to the stairs and took them two at a time and made her way down the hallway towards her room. She hoped that getting some rest will help clear her head from all of this.

But, Natalie couldn't stop thinking about Sam during all of this. From the moment she saw him at the mausoleum, he seemed reserved and distant. During the talk back at Bobby's, Sam didn't seemed phased by any of it. He didn't seem to feel guilty for keeping away from her for an entire year. And the more Natalie thought about it, the more it bothered her. Though, how could she blame him? He did jump into the pit, he was in hell for a period of time, she didn't know what was going on in his head. Maybe this was just a repercussion from being in the pit and no doubt that being in his position, your attitude and personality would change.

Natalie decided to push the thought away for now and walked into her room. Walking over to her bed, Natalie took off her jacket and tossed it onto the ground and slipped out of her jeans. Settling herself into her bed, Natalie thought back to Clara's words, about how she would forgive all of this. And Natalie only silently hoped that she was right. Now that Sam was back, Natalie thought that maybe things could go back to how they were before. But, it was all up to Natalie and if she was willing to push this behind her.

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><p><strong>How did you all like it? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! For this episode I'm going to do it just a tiny bit different, mostly just small differences. Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural except for my OC's_

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><p>Time. That was all Natalie needed. She needed to be able to fully absorb what she had learned. Sam being alive was the biggest surprise. Then to add in the fact that Dean, Bobby and Sam, kept that from her, was a different story. Being at Aunt Clara's home, didn't seem to be making a big difference to her. Natalie called Marina, telling her that she needed to see her, wanting her clear her head of a few things and Marina told Natalie to come up to Ethan's parents home, which Natalie hesitantly accepted. Natalie didn't tell Marina the exact details of what happened, since she herself, could barely process all of it.<p>

Although, Natalie was actually glad that she accepted Marina's request. Ethan's parents lived up in Illinois on a patch of land that was isolated from everything else and to Natalie that sounded like paradise.

Staying here, Natalie lost track of time. A few days quickly turned into a week and then two weeks. then to three weeks She didn't feel right being here, thinking that she was intruding on Ethan and his family, even though he and his parents always reassured her that she was more than welcomed to their home.

Marina walked out onto the back patio, with Emily on her arms, seeing Natalie lounging on one of the chairs. Marina walked over and tapped her on the shoulder, before gently putting Emily into Natalie's lap.

Natalie sat up and took hold of Emily, adjusting her in her lap. Marina took a seat next to her sister, resting her hands in her lap, and stared at Natalie expectantly. "So...are you gonna tell me, what happened?"

Natalie kept her attention on Emily for as long as she could.

"Nad." Marina tried again, this time her tone taking on an edgy sound. "It's been over three weeks now. You never told me over the phone what happened...and I've given you time. I would like to know what upset you so much."

Natalie looked over at her sister, nodded in relent. "It's about Sam."

Marina furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"The day you and Ethan left...Aunt Clara found a job up in Omaha...told me to meet her there. There was a case about missing people and she knew that it was ghouls. So, as usual, we went to find them and after I got done killing the beasts...Dean and Sam were there."

Marina stared at her sister, her eyes narrowing slightly, making sure that she heard her sister right. "Wait...Dean was there, that I believe...but, Sam? How can he..."

"Sam has been alive this entire year, Mari." Natalie said, interrupting her sister.

Marina's eyes widened. "What?"

"Sam has been back this entire year. And to top it all off...Bobby knew. For the whole year, he and Sam kept it a secret from both Dean and I...until I saw them at Omaha. By then, Dean had been hunting with Sam for weeks...and he didn't even bother to tell me either."

Marina remained silent, allowing her sister's words to slowly sink in and all she could feel was anger. "How the hell could they do that to you?!"

Natalie shook her head. "Trust me, I thought the same thing. But, I will say...being here, being able to clear my head and think it over...I think I can start to see their reasoning...but, still..."

"It hurts." Marina finished. "Well, I can say that I am now pissed at them...especially, Bobby. I mean after you and Sam were practically together...how is Sam?" Marina suddenly asked.

"I-I really don't know Mari. I mean, it's Sam, but, he just seems so...distant. Really reserved, he seems very stoic as well. He just doesn't seem like himself. I mean I can't blame him...he was in hell. That is enough to change anybody, right?" Natalie asked, still unsure about how she felt about Sam now.

"Well, what do you think? You think you and him can go back to how it was before?" Marina asked.

Natalie huffed out a laugh, adjusting Emily once she began to fuss. "I don't know. I mean we didn't really get the chance to actually have a conversation. We met up at Bobby's and we talked about it...then I left. I haven't talked to either of them since."

"But, you want to, right? Get back with Sam."

"Of course I do." Natalie affirmed without hesitation. "We barely had any time, before...I should have told him earlier than I did."

"Don't go and start beating yourself up over it, Nad. Now, I'm pretty sure that whatever Sam went through down there, he's gonna need all the support he can get. He's got Bobby, Dean...and now he needs you."

Natalie allowed her gaze to fall, focusing her attention back on Emily, wanting to take a moment to think over Marina's words. Marina pursed her lips as she looked down at Natalie's phone on the porch next to her chair, seeing an incoming call from Dean.

"Hey. Dean's calling you." Marina finally said, gesturing down at Natalie's phone.

Natalie looked down and picked up her phone, staring at the screen, her thumb hovered over the 'accept' button, but before she could make a decision, the call ended.

"You going to call him back?" Marina asked.

"Not right now. He's already called me a few times the past few weeks, not really ready to talk to him." Natalie said as she stood and handed Emily back over to Marina. "I'm gonna go take a shower." Natalie picked up her phone and slid it in her pocket, before walking back in the house.

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><p>A phone on a nightstand began to vibrate once again, an incoming call for Natalie. She walked out of bathroom into her guest room, drying her hair, and looked over seeing her phone going off. She quickly walked over and picked it up, but was to late as the call ended once again.<p>

She gazed down at the screen knowing that it was Dean who called, she began to debate whether she should just call him back and try to talk to him. She went to call him back when another incoming call came in, but this time it was from Suzie.

Natalie's brows furrowed as she answered the call and placed the phone up to her ear. "Suzie?"

"_Nad, thank god you answered. I really need someone to talk to right now."_

"Suzie, what happened?" Natalie asked, already concerned by the tone in her voice.

"_My cousin Amy has been missing for days. I just drove up to her parent's house and I don't know what to do right now. They haven't gotten any leads on her."_

Natalie could feel her head swoon by the speed that Suzie spoke at. "Okay, Suzie, you just need to calm down. Amy is missing?" Natalie asked for clarification.

"_Yes. She's missing and I'm here with her mom and I just...I need someone to talk to."_

"Suzie, do you want me to come up there? Stay with you a little bit?" Natalie asked, already getting her clothes ready.

"_Do you mind? I just need someone here."_

"I don't mind at all Suzie. I'll be there soon." Natalie hung up the phone and proceeded to get dressed in her spare set of clothes. She picked up her bag and dashed out of the room, rushing down the stairs, she saw Marina in the living room with Ethan and his parents.

"Hey. Um, sorry, but, I need to go." Natalie said, walking over to the door and began to put on her boots.

"Nad. What's wrong? Why are you leaving?" Marina asked, walking over to her sister.

"Uh...Suzie called. Her cousin is missing and she is really freaked out right now. So I'm gonna go stay with her for a little bit." Natalie slipped into her other boot and fixed the bottom of her jeans.

"Are you sure, Nad? I mean are you alright?" Marina said, knowing that Natalie would read more into her question.

Natalie looked up at her sister and gave her a small nod. "Yeah. I'm fine. Besides, Suzie's cousin lives up in Limestone, that's only a couple of hours away." She looked over at Ethan's parents. "Thank you so much for letting me stay here."

"It's no problem at all." Ethan's mother said. "I hope everything goes well for your friend."

Natalie pulled on her jacket. "Yeah. I hope so too." She fixed the collar of her jacket, looking back over at her sister. "I'll be fine. I'll call once I get there." Natalie stepped forward and gave her sister a quick hug, before rushing out of the door.

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><p>Parking her car on the driveway of the house, Natalie quickly got out while typing out a message to her sister before hitting send. Sliding the phone back into her pocket, Natalie walked up the porch steps and knocked on the front door.<p>

The door opened and Natalie saw Amy's mother, Kate, standing before her and she gave her a small smile. "Hi, Mrs. Jones." Natalie said as she stepped forward and gave Kate a small hug. "I'm so sorry about Amy."

Kate gave Natalie a small shake of her head and forced a smile. "Thanks, Natalie. Please, come in." Kate said, stepping aside from the door, allowing Natalie easy entry.

"Where's Suzie?" Natalie asked, taking a quick glance around the house.

"In the living room. You go right ahead, I just need to make a few calls." Kate said, before walking past Natalie and disappearing into the kitchen.

Natalie sighed and walked down the main hallway until she came to the living room and looked in, seeing Suzie sitting on the couch. "Hey, Suzie." Natalie said as she walked in and sat down on the couch next to her. "How are you holding up?"

Suzie let out a light scoff. "Horribly." She said, wiping at her eyes.

"Hey, listen, they're gonna find her. You just got to keep a positive mind." Natalie said, trying to give her friend some sort of hope.

"I just can't believe this is happening. I mean first Amy's dad died a few years ago...and now her?" Suzie shook her head as she began to play with the sleeve of her sweater.

"I know, it's not fair." Natalie faintly cringed at her own words, berating her for not saying more. "But, I'll stay here with you for as long as you need me to."

Suzie gave Natalie a small smile. "Thanks, Nad."

The doorbell halted the girls from saying anything else and Natalie saw Suzie cringe. "Don't worry. I'll get it."

Natalie stood up from the couch and walked back out into the main hall and towards the front door. She reached for the handle and opened the door. Sam and Dean were standing on the porch in their usual suits and FBI badges in their hands.

Dean and Sam both were surprised to see Natalie standing in front of them and the fact that the three of them were doing nothing but staring at each other, wasn't making the awkward tension go away.

Dean cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "What are you doing here, Nad?"

"Uh. Suzie is my friend and Amy was her cousin. She called me, told me that Amy was missing and so I drove up here." Natalie explained. "I'm guessing you two think that this might be a job."

Dean gave her half a shrug. "It seemed like something we should check out, so here we are."

"Listen, I know you guys are here to-"

"Natalie, who is at the door?" Kate asked as she walked up behind Natalie. "Hello, gentlemen, may I help you?"

Dean and Sam gave Kate small smiles as they held up their badges. "Agents Jones and Howard. We just need to ask you a few questions regarding your daughter." Dean said.

Natalie looked over at Kate, seeing the hesitation in her eyes. "You don't have to if you aren't ready."

Kate shook her head and gave Sam and Dean a smile. "I might as well get it over with, but, I already talked with the police."

"Right, we just need to clarify a few more things." Dean added.

"Right, well, come right in." Kate said, before turning around and making her way down to the living room.

Natalie stood aside allowing Sam and Dean to enter. "Go easy on her." Natalie said to both of them, though she knew that they would, she just felt like she had to say something to them.

Natalie followed them down to the living room and leaned against the entry, watching silently as Sam and Dean began to question them. Standing there, watching Sam and Dean do their jobs, she couldn't help but think back to all of the hunts the three of them went on. All that she had seen and experienced, it changed her completely. She had been through a lot in just a little over a year, all three of them had. And she couldn't help the want to get back to where they were before. Traveling around with the brothers, working on jobs with them. She wanted that more than anything.

Natalie had become so engrossed in her thoughts, that she didn't process Sam and Dean standing right in front of her. Dean stared at her, before nudging her in the arm. Natalie jumped at the notion and looked up at Dean, seeing him motioning for her to follow them. Natalie looked back in the living room, seeing that Suzie and Kate were to busy talking with each other, and then turned around, following Sam and Dean up the stairs.

"So, Nad, what do you know about Amy?" Dean asked as they made their way up the steps.

"Um. Well, she was probably the sweetest girl you would ever meet. I've only met her a handful of time, but, from what I've seen, she was smart and well mannered. But, she apparently changed after her dad died a few years ago."

Natalie paused as the three of them reached her bedroom door. "Oh and she was really interested in..." Natalie stopped as Sam opened the bedroom door, revealing Amy's room, which had a few posters of vampires strung up and an entire bookshelf filled with vampire stories. "...in vampires.

The three of them stepped into the room, gawking at Amy's collection. "Okay, I didn't think she had this much of an interest." Natalie admitted, jumping at a poster she saw once she had turned around.

"Now this is just ultra freaky." Dean remarked, looking at everything in the room.

"I guess this was a guilty pleasure to her." Natalie said. "I mean she never really seemed like an obsessive fan or anything."

"Yeah, well, let's see what else we can find out about her." Sam said as he walked over to her desk and opened her laptop.

Dean walked around her bed and picked up a book that was resting on the mattress. He examines the cover and scoffed. "Look at this. This dude is watching her sleep. Yeah, like that's not creepy at all."

"Dean, I'm trying to figure this out." Sam said, punching in another password combination.

Dean opens up the book and flips through a few pages, before settling on a paragraph. "He could hear the blood rushing inside her, almost taste it. He tries desperately to control himself. Romero knew their love was impossible..." Dean stopped and made a face. "Romero? Really? That's his name."

Natalie looked over at Dean, giving him a look. "Dean. Seriously?"

Dean gazed up at Natalie. "This thing is a national bestseller. I'm just saying, give the vampire a name that fits him."

Natalie rolled her eyes and shook her head as she began to go through Amy's side table. In one of the drawers, she pulls out a journal that is decorated in cut out pictures. "Hey, Sam, try Pattinson."

Sam paused and turned to look at Natalie. "Will it work?"

Natalie turned and held up the journal with various pictures of him glued on the front. "Is that good enough for you?"

Sam turned back around and quickly typed it in, gaining access into her laptop. "Yeah, it worked alright."

Dean walksed over to Sam, as he starts looking through some sort of social blog she had. "What do we got then?"

"Well, her inbox is full, from some guy claiming to be a vampire."

"Like a real vampire?" Dean asked.

"Well, he says that he can only go out at night and he doesn't trust himself with her, the usual."

Natalie put the journal back into the drawer. "So, what, vampires are now using social media to get new victims?"

"It's either that or just some guy posing as one." Dean added.

"Well, apparently, it's working. From what I've read about these cases before driving up here, these girls are just practically throwing themselves into the spotlight." Natalie said, walking up behind Sam and looking down at the screen.

"Well, here's something. He said that he wanted to meet her at a place called The Black Rose." Sam said.

"Great. It's most likely just a standard-issue perv, right?" Dean asked.

"Well, then you boys have somewhere to be then." Natalie said. Dean and Sam looked over at her and she began to motion them to leave the room. "Let's get out of here before I get even more creeped out."

Sam shut the laptop and got up from the chair, walking out of the room with Dean trailing behind. Natalie followed last, shutting the door behind her, feeling one more shiver roll down her spine.

Dean stepped into the kitchen, where Kate and Suzie were. "Thank you once again for your time, Mrs. Jones." Kate gave them a nod, before returning to drinking her coffee.

Dean and Sam turn out of the kitchen and walk towards the front door with Natalie behind them. Sam opened the door and walked out first then Dean, who stopped and turned to look at Natalie who was standing at the open door.

"Hey, Nad. Listen. I know there is a lot of bad water under the bridge right now. But we could always use an extra hand." Dean said.

Natalie pursed her lips and pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek. She had to admit, it was nice having an actual conversation with the two of them, even if it was about a job. Natalie gave them a small smile. "If you guys need any help, just call me. And this time I will pick up." Natalie said, directing her last statement at Dean.

Dean nodded. "We're gonna take you up on that."

Natalie gave them a nod, watching as they walked down the porch and back towards the Impala. And in the back of her mind, there was a faint hope that they would call her soon.

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><p><strong>So how did you all like it?! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>"Alright, thanks again Officer." Natalie turned around and walked out of the police station and pulled out her phone. She quickly dialed out Dean's number and put it against her ear.<p>

"_Yeah. Wait let me put you on speaker."_

Natalie waited a few seconds before continuing. "Hey, so I went to the station, like you asked, to get some info about the whole alleyway situation."

"_What did you get?"_

"Well, the cops aren't exactly sure what to make of it. They got a call, saying that there was a truck in the middle of an alleyway and the driver was lying dead next to the vehicle." Natalie walked down the steps of the building and began to make her way back towards Amy's house.

"_Doesn't really seem like it's of any relation this case then."_

Natalie smiled faintly. "I'm not finished though. Guess what the van was carrying?" Natalie paused, waiting to see if either of them had a guess and rolled her eyes when there was nothing but silence. "The van was carrying donated blood. And when the police searched the vehicle, all of the blood was gone."

"_Hmm. So, vampires are taking from blood vans." _Sam's voice came from the other line.

"_But that doesn't make sense." _Dean added. "_They have a complete food source all around them. Why would they result to stealing blood?"_

"I'm not sure. The cops had a theory that it was robbers. Yeah, blood is the number one thing that robbers definitely go for. But, maybe the vampires are storing it...saving it for something, maybe?"

"_Yeah, but, I mean, it's not something you hear about when it comes to vamps. You know? They hunt down their victims and they kill them. Pretty much almost like a clean slate."_

Natalie huffed out a breath as she looked both ways and then crossed the street to get to Amy's neighborhood. "I don't know, Dean. I mean with times changing, it would make sense for monsters to adapt some of their methods."

"_I'm not sure, it just doesn't sound right to me."_

Reaching the house, Natalie quickly walked up the porch steps and began to feel her demeanor change. She looked around and cleared her throat. "Well, um, you and Sam still have that bar to check out...so you two should do that."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. Dean could hear the change in her voice and he knew that she was going back to being withdrawn from them again. _"Yeah. Right. Um, thanks, Nad, for checking out the...you know."_

"Yeah. Yeah, it's no problem. If there's anything else you need just...call." Natalie said, hoping to end the awkwardness between the two lines.

"_Definitely. Bye, Nad."_

Natalie kept the phone to her ear even when she heard the call end. Natalie pulled the phone away and slid it back in her pocket. Looking over, Natalie could see the sun just beginning to set for the day and she could feel herself growing tired. She opened the front door and quickly slipped in, closing the door behind her.

Looking down the hall, Natalie could see Kate walking up towards the front door. "Where are you going?" Natalie asked curiously.

Kate cleared her throat as she picked up her purse. "I'm gonna visit my sister. I just need to see her for a little bit."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll stay here with Suzie. You go and get some rest if you can." Natalie said.

Kate gave Natalie a smile and nodded. "Thank you for coming Natalie."

"You don't have to thank me. I didn't mind really." Natalie said, assuring the woman before her.

Kate took in a breath and walked over to the door. "I'm only going to be staying for a day or so." She said, giving Natalie one last look before walking out of the door.

Natalie watched as Kate left and then ran a hand down her face. Letting out a tired yawn, she turned around and slowly made her way upstairs, hoping that she could get some sleep and maybe it will help clear her mind.

* * *

><p>Her eyes slowly opened to nothing but darkness. Taking in a breath, Natalie rolled onto her back and listened intently to the sound of rain falling outside, a few drops hitting against the window. Natalie pushed herself up into a sitting position and ran a hand through her hair. The sound of footsteps downstairs, halted her movements. Natalie pushed the covers away from her body and slowly stood up, crept over to the door and opened it slightly, leaning her ear close to it to try and hear the noise better.<p>

After a few minutes of silence, Natalie pulled the door open fully and walked down the hallway slowly. Keeping herself close to the wall, she reached Suzie's room and quietly opened the door. Looking in she saw Suzie was in her bed, sleeping soundly and Natalie furrowed her brows in panic.

The noise came once again from downstairs, causing Natalie to quickly close the door and walk the rest of the way down the hallway towards the stairs. Taking the steps one at a time, Natalie could hear the footsteps slowly disappear until silence took over. Reaching the bottom of the steps, Natalie stopped and leaned forward, looking into the kitchen and saw no one.

Natalie stepped down and slowly walked into the kitchen, looking around for anyone. "Mrs. Jones?" Natalie finally asked, thinking that she had returned to do something. The only response she received was silence.

Natalie turned around and felt her heart stop at the sight of someone standing in front of her. Natalie felt the person grab her arms, forbidding her from moving and she struggled only for a moment, when she finally saw who it was.

"Dean?" Natalie looked at him, her eyes narrowing in order to adjust to the dark.

"Yeah, it's me Nad."

Natalie felt him let go of her arms and she quickly switched on the lights. Turning back, she saw Dean cringe at the lights and raised his hand up to block it out. "Turn that off, Nad."

Natalie gave Dean a confused look, but, turned off the lights regardless. Instead, Natalie walked out into the main hallway and turned on the small lamp that rested on a table. Turning back around she found Dean making his way towards her. "Dean...how did you get in here?"

Dean rubbed his forehead and shook his head. "That's not important."

Natalie gave Dean a look. "Um. Actually, Dean it kind of..."

"Nad. Please there's something that I need to tell you." Dean interrupted her, his tone taking on a sense of urgency.

Natalie folded her arms over her chest and nodded. "Okay. What is it?"

"Listen. I know you're pissed at me, Sam and Bobby. And you have every right to be. But, all of this tension going on, it needs to stop. I know that Sam and I showing up here just created a whole new kind of awkwardness. But, I just wanted to say that I am sorry. Really, I am. We had no right to keep something like that from you...and I hope you know that we all regret it."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Natalie suddenly questioned.

Dean sighed, but continued anyways. "We just thought that we were finally doing something right for once, by keeping you out of this. We thought maybe just once we wouldn't screw up someone else's life. I know that this doesn't make up for all that we did...but, I just needed to get this off of my chest. I just wanted to try and clear this up before..."

Natalie stared at Dean, at lost for words, since she didn't expect him to confess like this. But, there was something else that was confusing her. The tone in his voice, was something different, like he was making amends because something was going to happen.

"Dean? Are you alright? Did something happen?" Natalie asked cautiously.

Dean closed his eyes, taking in a heavy sigh and turned away from her. Natalie stared at him, seeing his body shaking and he was groaning in what sounded like either discomfort or pain. Natalie's brows creased with worry as she took a step towards him.

"Dean?"

Dean raised his hand towards her, motioning her to stop. "Nad. Just stay back."

At this point, Natalie could feel herself begin to panic at Dean's behavior. She ignored his words and took another step towards him, raising her hand, she rested it on his shoulder. "Dean, are you okay?"

Natalie was caught off guard as Dean turned around and pushed her up against the wall. Immediately, she began to try and get out of his hold, but, his grasp on her was to strong. She stared at Dean, seeing him staring her down, but the look in his eyes, caused her panic to increase. Natalie watched as Dean opened his mouth and much to her horror, fangs soon began to appear.

Her eyes widened as she braced her hands against his chest, to try and keep him back. "Dean. Dean, don't do this." She said as she struggled in his hold.

Dean began to lean closer to Natalie, her attempt to keep him back not working on him. Natalie turned her head away as he inched closer to her neck and heard him taking in a deep breath.

"Dean. Stop it." Natalie said, trying to push him away from her. Dean grabbed onto her left wrist and pinned her arm against the wall, making her even more vulnerable to him. Dean stared at Natalie, seeing the panic in her eyes something in him snapped and he closed his eyes, trying to gain control of his raging hunger.

"No. No!" Dean said to himself, trying to gain control over himself. His fangs retracted and he had to force himself to let Natalie go. He leaned up against the opposite wall, running a hand down his face and then looked up at Natalie, seeing the look on her face, only then he began to grasp on what he had done. Dean groaned as he turned to walk down the hallway.

Natalie recovered from her initial shock and followed down, placing her hand on his shoulder, she stopped him from going any further. "Dean, where are you going?"

Dean hesitated, not looking back at her. "I'm going back to the motel."

"Okay, well, I'm going with you." Natalie said.

Dean quickly looked over at her, shaking his head. "No, Nad. I don't think that's a good idea. I mean I almost..."

"I'm going with you, Dean. I'll follow you with my car, if you don't me being in the Impala with you. Either way, I'm not letting you leave here without me, Dean." Natalie had grabbed her keys that were resting on the table near the front door, and was ready to get Dean out of here.

Dean gave Natalie a hesitated look, not wanting her to come with him in fear that he would actually harm her in some way. But, seeing the look on her face, he knew that she wasn't going to settle for him telling her to stay here. Dean sighed and walked over to the front door, which Natalie opened to allow him leave first.

Dean stopped and turned to look at Natalie. "What about your friend?"

Natalie bit down on her lip. "I'll send her a message. Tell her that I had to do something in town. She'll understand." Natalie looked at Dean, then gently ushered him out of the door then quickly closed it, before trailing behind him.

* * *

><p>Dean opened the hotel door and quickly walked in, his hand running down his face. Natalie walked in and closed the door behind her, before making her way towards Dean, who had seated himself at the table.<p>

"Okay, are you finally going to tell me what the hell happened to you?" Natalie asked.

Dean held his head and took a few deep breaths. "Sam and I were at the bar. I saw some kid, thought he was a vampire. So of course I follow him and turns out he wasn't one. Then I get approached by this...guy. To be honest, first I thought he was hitting on me...which he probably was...I don't know. Anyways, he attacked me and forced me to drink his blood."

Natalie pursed her lips and nodded. "And he turned you into a vamp. Great. Where was Sam in all of this?" Natalie saw Dean's expression change as he began to search for an answer to give her.

"I don't know. Honestly, the whole thing is still just a big blur." Dean said.

Natalie looked around the room. "And where is he?"

"Well, probably looking for me." Dean added. "I didn't tell him that I was going anywhere."

"Oh for godsakes, Dean."

"Well, sorry. I was just freaking out over the fact that I was starting to turn into a vamp, okay?" Dean looked over at Natalie, hearing her heartbeat pounding and her blood rushing through her veins, it resonated in his ears only enticing him even more. "God, Nad. You need to calm down, your blood is just so freaking loud right now."

Natalie gave Dean a look and scoffed. "Well, sorry for not being calm. I'm still trying to grasp the fact that you are now a vampire."

The motel door opened and Natalie turned around, seeing Sam and an older man walking in. "Well I didn't think that he'd..." Sam stopped once he saw Natalie standing in the room. "Nad?"

"Yeah. Hey." Natalie said, her brows furrowing at the other guy. "Who is that?"

"I'm Samuel. I'm their grandfather" He said, closing the door behind him and walked over to Natalie, who was eyeing him curiously. "And you must be, Natalie, right?" He said, extending his hand out to her.

Natalie eyed it for a moment before finally taking it. "How do you know who I am?"

"Sam." He said, motioning toward Sam. "He talked about you a lot during the past year."

Natalie nodded and pressed her tongue to the side of her cheek. "Good to know. So, if you mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

"He's here to kill me." Dean said, standing up from the table.

Samuel drew out his machete. "Did you feed, Dean?"

Dean looked up at Samuel and huffed. "I went to say goodbye to Lisa, which was a lousy idea. Then I came back to talk with Nad. That was even more of a bad idea."

"Just answer the question Dean." Samuel said once again.

"Oh, relax. I didn't drink anyone, okay?" Dean said, taking off his jacket. "Alright, let's get this over with. Do it."

Natalie stared at Dean and shook her head. "Wait a minute. You're not actually going to kill him, are you?"

"Come on. He has to." Dean said.

"I could do that...or I could cure you."

"What?" Sam, Dean and Natalie all spoke simultaneously.

"I didn't drive all this way to kill you, Dean. I'm here to save you."

"How exactly are you going to do that?" Natalie asked curiously.

"With a cure." Samuel walked over to the table and set down his bag. Digging through it, he pulled out a worn down journal. "It's my grandfather's journal. Cure's an old Campbell recipe, kind of like the soup. No one's tried it since God knows. What I hear...this stuff is a bad trip."

Dean picked up the journal and read through the recipe. "Great."

"The cure is good. But a lot of this is on you. You drink, you're done. It won't work. I'm talking one drop of human blood..."

"Yeah, I got it." Dean interrupted.

"Really? Because you will feed. It's only a matter of time."

"Yeah, well, Dean has been pretty good at keeping himself tamed. What do we need for the recipe?" Natalie asked.

"Some of the stuff we got, some we have to get. Trickiest thing on the list: blood of the fang that turned you." Samuel explained.

"That guy was huge though." Sam added.

"There's nothing in the recipe about anything being easy." Samuel remarked.

"I can get it." Dean said.

"You're gonna walk right up into that nest?" Samuel questioned.

"Well, I'm one of them, aren't I? So all I gotta do is get in there, get the guy alone, and...shoot him with so much dead man's blood that he'll think he's rushing a fraternity."

"Dean, are you sure that's a good idea?" Natalie asked.

"Why not?"

"Well, at least let either Sam or I come with you." Natalie added.

"No way in hell. You both reek. You two are like walking hamburgers." Natalie made a face as she looked down at herself. "I gotta do this solo."

"Yeah, except—we haven't been able to find him yet." Sam said.

"No problem." Dean got up and walked towards the motel door. "I can smell him two miles east of town. You three get the crap and meet me there."

"Dean." Samuel pulls out a syringe with blood in it. "It's dead man's blood. Now, there's enough there to drop a linebacker, and then some. Good luck, son."

Dean nodded and placed the syringe in his jacket pocket before turning around and leaving the motel room.

Natalie turned to look at Samuel. "You sure that you can get this stuff."

"Most definitely." Samuel assured her.

Natalie nodded as she looked over at Sam who was already beginning to get everything together. In her pocket, she could feel her phone vibrating and she pulled it out. "Excuse me." Natalie walked out into the motel hallway, making sure that the door remained open slightly.

"Hey, Aunt Clara." Natalie said, once she had answered the call.

"_So, you aren't with Mari and Ethan."_

Natalie closed her eyes and sighed, realizing she forgot to tell her where she was going. "Crap. Sorry."

"_I had to hear from your sister that you left. Nad..."_

"Yeah, I know Aunt Clara. I should have told you and I completely forgot. Sorry."

"_Where are you anyways?"_

"Limestone. Suzie's cousin went missing, so I came up to stay with her for a little bit. But, it turns out, vampires are behind all of this."

"_Really? Did you check it out?"_

"Well, not exactly. Dean and Sam came up here to check it out, so, I'm helping them out a little bit."

"_Yeah, well, I am gonna make my way up there. Kate called me, asked if I could come down."_

"That sounds like a good idea. They need all of the distraction they can get."

"_Yeah. Well, what are you doing now?"_

"Well, I'm about to head out with Sam and Samuel to do a few things..."

"_Samuel?"_

"Their grandfather. Trust me. I don't know the story either, so I'm hoping they are willing to explain it to me."

"_Alright, well you just be careful."_

"I will Aunt Clara." Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call. Walking back towards the door, she could hear a part of Samuel and Sam's conversation.

"_That's strange. Because if you had known, it'd be almost like you let him get turned. Get a man on the inside? Help us find the alpha we've been looking for?"_

Natalie stared at the door, gawking at what she had just heard.

"_Are you serious? You think I'd do something like that, risk my own brother? What's wrong with you?"_

Natalie was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't have time to step away when the door suddenly opened. Looking up, she saw the look on Sam's face fill with what looked like annoyance. "Is there something we need to talk about Sam?" She questioned.

Samuel sighed and walked past Sam and into the hallway. "Looks like you two need a moment."

Natalie didn't give Samuel any acknowledgement as he walked down the hallway, leaving the two of them in an awkward silence. "What exactly happened, Sam? Was Samuel right? Did you purposely let Dean get turned so you could just get the alpha?"

"Nad. No, of course not. It's not what you think it is." Sam said, trying to assure her.

Natalie stared at Sam, her eyes narrowing. "Why am I having a hard time believing you?"

Sam scoffed. "I don't get why you are getting so worked up about it. You weren't there. And because of that, you have no idea what happened. You didn't help us, instead, you were to busy moping around at your friend's house."

"Yeah, you want to know why I was 'moping' around. It's because I was still pissed that you, Dean and Bobby lied to me! You think three weeks would be enough for me to let it all go?" Natalie called out.

Sam huffed and shook his head. "Just stop. Alright? Just stop trying to accuse me of something you have no idea about, alright? Let's just get out of here so we can get this done. Yeah?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sam?!" Natalie asked, seeing Sam give another annoyed sigh. "You're definitely not yourself."

"Yeah, well, I came back from hell. Sorry if I am not all peachy. Now are you done giving me this pep talk? Because we need to get going."

Natalie shook her head. "Yeah. Sure, whatever." She said as she headed down the hallway.

* * *

><p>Samuel parked the van near the Impala and looked down at the building where Dean was in. "I'm guessing this is the place."<p>

"Shh...wait." Sam said. The three of them remain silent, listening for what Sam was hearing. Something suddenly lands on the roof of the car and a vampire smashes the driver side window, grabbing Samuel.

Natalie went to get out of the van when Sam beat her to it. He rushed out of the car and attacked the vampire, beheading him with one swipe.

"Well, so much for being undercover." Samuel said.

Natalie walked to the back door and pushed it open, then hopped out of the vehicle. Samuel met her at the back of the car and pulled out a machete.

"I think it's best you stay here." Samuel said as he looked at Natalie.

Natalie scoffed. "Yeah, right. I'm not going to wait out here. I'm going in with you two."

"Nad." Sam spoke, but, Natalie looked up at him, giving him a hardened glare, though it didn't do much for her. "I think it's best you stay out here as well."

"Yeah, well, sorry. But, that's not going to happen." She looked over at Samuel. "You have an extra machete."

Samuel hesitantly pulled out the weapon, which Natalie quickly took. "Still don't think it's a good idea." Samuel added.

"I'm going in there. Whether you two like it or not." Natalie said. She walked passed them and began to make her way towards the building.

Samuel and Sam stand near the van, watching her retreating figure. "You were right about one thing." Samuel said.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

Samuel closed the van door and looked over at Sam. "She's stubborn. Determined, but, stubborn." Samuel walked towards the building with Sam trailing behind.

...

The three of them walk through a door that had been left open, their machetes close to them. Multiple headless bodies, created a gruesome trail to where they knew Dean would be.

Natalie walked a little head of the other two, her hand occasionally tightening on the handle.

"Looks, like your brother has some Campbell in him after all."

Natalie heard Samuel comment as she walked through another doorway, she was met with another pile of headless bodies. Though, one caught her eye and she slowly made her way over to the body. Kneeling down, Natalie got a good look at the face.

"Amy." Natalie whispered to herself.

"Now, I know what happened to you." Natalie said, standing back up. _How am I going to tell Suzie and Kate? _Natalie thought to herself as she continued on through the room.

Reaching another open door, Natalie walked through and found herself standing in the middle of a hallway, with even more headless bodies strewn on the floor.

"Oh my god, Dean."

Natalie spots a set of stairs at the end of the hallway and made her way over to them, taking them one at a time. The stairs ended at the entrance to another room and as Natalie stepped in, she found that it must have been the main room. And no surprise, bodies were all over the place.

She looked ahead and saw Dean, leaning against the table. She took a quick look around the room and saw that there were no other vampires.

"Dean?" Natalie asked, seeing him slowly turn around to look at her. "Are you okay?"

Dean gave her a slow nod. "Yeah. I'm alright."

* * *

><p>Natalie watched silently as Samuel squirts blood into a jar that had the ingredients for the cure. Looking back over at Dean, she can see his breathing had turned into pants and his expression was etched with pain.<p>

"Now, you know that if this works, it's not gonna be a kiddy ride." Samuel said to Dean.

"That's great. Light her up."

"So what'd you see in there?" Sam asked. Natalie casted him a look that he didn't notice.

"What?" Dean asked.

"What did you see in the nest?" Sam tried again.

"Sam, I can't hear you—your blood is so damn loud, okay? Just—just back off." Samuel pours the potion into a coffee mug and hands it to Dean, who takes a quick sniff and recoiled, gagging at the scent. "L'chaim..." Dean brought the cup to his lips and chugged down the potion as some of it drips down his chin.

Dean sets the mug back down on the table, gagging at the terrible substance in his mouth. "God that's disgusting." He said, wiping at his chin. "I don't think it—' Dean turns around and drops to his knees, vomiting into a waste bucket.

Natalie stared at Dean, her eyes widening. "Is this supposed to happen? Is it working?"

"Either that or he is dying."

Natalie kept her focus on Dean, watching as he continues to spit blood into the waste basket. Dean leans away from the wastebasket, his hand clutching his stomach as he moans in agony and his eyes were bloodshot. Natalie ran a hand through her hair, feeling her nerves going on end, at the sight of Dean like this.

Dean suddenly fell to his side, his breathing was labored and his agonized moaning were still present, but sounded like they were beginning to die down. Natalie walked a little closer towards him, wanting to make sure that she kept her eyes fixed on him. His eyes fly open and they were no longer red, but, they were now clear.

Natalie quickly rushed over and knelt down next to him, helping him sit back up. "Hey. You alright?" Dean nodded in response to her question. Sam knelt down next to Dean, giving him a small pat on the chest, but, Dean only gave Sam a strange look and it didn't go unnoticed by Natalie.

...

Dean walked out of the bathroom, wiping his face with a towel. Sam looked up at him. "Hi. So, what'd you see?"

"What?" Dean asked, taken aback from Sam's question.

"In the nest, what did you see?" Sam asked again. Natalie looked over at Sam and then back at Dean.

"Um. Well, I'm still trying to work through it, but, uh...I'm pretty sure they're not figuring anything out on their own. They're getting they're orders from the top...where to go next, all of that."

"Top, as in...?" Samuel asked.

"Their alpha. At least, that's what I think it is. They've got some sort of psychic thing happening. He sends them, uh, I guess you could call them messages."

"Say what, exactly?" Sam asked.

"Honestly? Recruitment drive. Their alpha's building an army."

"Well that's just comforting." Sam remarked.

"Yeah. That's not the worse though." Dean added.

"Then what is?"

"We don't scare them anymore." Dean said. Sam and Samuel exchange looks before going back to packing their things.

Dean looks over at Natalie, seeing a look on her face and walked over to her, nudging her arm. She looked over at him. "You okay?" He asked.

Natalie allowed herself to look up at Dean. "I saw Amy."

Dean nodded grimly, knowing that she was one of the many vampires that went after him back at the nest. "Yeah. Nad, listen, I didn't..."

"No it's fine." Natalie said. "Really. You had no choice. She was already turned...wasn't she." Natalie saw Dean nod his head and she dropped her gaze from him. "Then you did exactly what you needed to do. I just don't know what I'm going to say to her mom and Suzie."

Dean pursed his lips, remaining silent not knowing what to say to her. Natalie gave Dean a small smile and walked over towards the door, but stopped and turned back. "I'm gonna head back to Amy's house. I need to figure out what I'm going to do."

The three men give her a nod. Natalie looked over at Samuel. "It was, uh, nice meeting you."

Samuel gave her a small nod. "Nice meeting you as well, Natalie."

Natalie looked back over at Dean, seeing him giving her a forced smile. She forced herself to turn around and opened the door, quickly making her exit.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so explain to me exactly what happened?" Clara said. She and Natalie were standing near the front door of Amy's house, making sure to keep their voices down so Kate and Suzie wouldn't hear them.<p>

"Dean got turned by one of the vampires. And Samuel had a cure for him. All we needed was the blood of the vampire that turned him. So, Dean goes to the nest and slaughters the entire base. And...one of them was Amy."

Natalie could see her Aunt's face turn grim. Clara sighed heavily and buried her face in her hands for a moment, before looking back up at Natalie. "And she had already been turned?" Natalie responded with a nod. "Dammit."

"I don't know what to say to them, Aunt Clara."

Clara thought for a moment and then braced her hands on Natalie's shoulders. "You won't have to. I'll stay here and...help calm everything down. Why don't you go ahead and go back to the house?"

"Aunt Clara, I can't just leave Suzie."

"Kate told me that Suzie is going to stay with a friend up in Chicago. She needs to get out of here anyway. You go and I'll stay here."

"Are you sure?" Natalie asked.

Clara gave her a tired nod. "Yes. I'm sure. Go."

Natalie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Clara, giving her a quick hug before pulling away. Opening the door, Natalie gave her Aunt another look before walking out and closing the door behind her. Looking over, Natalie saw Sam and Dean leaning against the Impala, waiting for her.

Natalie walked down the porch steps and made her way over to them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Came to see how everything is." Dean said, walking away from the Impala and towards her. "How did they take it?" Dean asked.

Natalie shrugged. "I don't know. I won't know for a while. Aunt Clara is staying here...she said that she will handle everything."

Natalie looked at Dean, feeling that she needed to say something to both him and Sam. All of this tension between them needed to stop and she needed to do her part. "Listen. Dean, what you said last night...when you came to see me..."

"I meant every word, Nad." Dean said.

"I know you did. And this whole thing...I've been giving it a lot of thought since we all talked at Bobby's. And, I know that you guys did what you did because you wanted to, I guess, protect me. And at first I didn't accept it...but now, I do."

Dean's face lightened with surprise and also was looked like gratitude, and Sam, even though it wasn't much, Natalie could see his brows raise in surprise.

"Don't get me wrong I'm still...angry. But, this case gave me something to focus on instead of what was going on with us. And it made me realize that I need to move on from this. So, I do, somewhat, forgive you guys. I'm still working on it though."

Dean smirked and nodded his head. "Thanks, Nad. I know it probably isn't easy at all to try and forgive any of this."

"No." Natalie was quick to answer. "But, I need to." Natalie looked at the brothers one more time before turning to get into her car. "Well, I think I should let you two go. You need to get back out on the road."

"Hey, Nad." Dean said. Natalie stopped and looked back over at Dean. "You know...your spot in the Impala is still open. And maybe...if you're up for it, the three of us could head out on the road together. It could be like old times. Not gonna lie...I kinda miss that."

Natalie huffed out a laugh and smiled. "I miss it too." By the look on Dean's face, Natalie knew that he wanted her to come along with them and she wasn't going to lie, she wanted to as well. Natalie leaned her hand against the car window and tapped her fingers on the glass. "Well, I don't have any of my stuff with me. My gun. Everything is back at home."

Dean shrugged. "There's no problem with us heading up there so you can get them."

Natalie pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek. "If I do this, there has to be one condition." The boys looked at her expectantly. "You two can't hide anything else from me. If there is something that I need to know...then tell me. Promise that you two won't lie to me like that ever again."

Dean nodded. "Promise."

Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing his head nodding faintly. "Promise."

She nodded in content and gave the boys a small smirk. "Then I guess you two will follow me?"

Dean gave Natalie a smile. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it? How did you like the little interaction between Soulless Sam and Nad...not that cute was it? But, now Nad is pretty much back in the game with her boys.<strong>

**Also, on a somewhat related note, there is a song you all should check out. It's called 'Something I need' by OneRepublic and not gonna lie, when I first heard it I immediately thought of Sam and Nad. I don't know if it's just me. But, if you listen to it, tell me your input!**

**Until next time! Xx**


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all. I'm sorry it took a while, I was having a hard time planning out how I wanted this hunt to play out and I have been sick the past week, so I have been working on this chapter bit by bit. Anyways, hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do now own Supernatural_

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><p>"Okay. And do you know if she had any enemies? Or could you think of anyone who would do anything like this to her?" Natalie asked.<p>

Lea, the girl sitting across from her, shook her head confusingly. "No. No, of course not. Alex was happy. Everyone loved her."

Natalie nodded her head. "I understand. We just need to look into every possible reasoning. Now, could you tell me what happened the last time you saw her?"

"We met up at the library, so that we could study for our exams. We stayed there probably..." Lea paused and pursed her lips to the side in thought. "...we were only there for a few hours. Left around 9:30. I offered to drive her home, but, she said that she was going to walk. She did that a lot, so I didn't think much of it. She said that she would call me later and then left...that was the last time I saw her."

Natalie nodded as she quickly wrote something down on her small notepad. "Do you know if she went to see anyone else after you two departed? Anyone she might have visited?"

Lea shrugged and shook her head, then sucked in a breath. "No. She might have went to see Matt before going home. But, I'm not sure."

Natalie nodded and her eyes narrowed in a questioning look. "And, who is Matt?"

"He was her boyfriend."

"And is there any indication or reason to think that he would...you know..."

Lea gave Natalie a look and huffed out a breath. "No. Of course not. They were great together. Matt would never do anything to hurt Alex."

Natalie nodded once again. "Of course." She said, as she went on to write a few more things down.

Lea settled back against the couch and rested her hands in her lap. "I can't believe she's gone. I should have just driven her home that night."

Natalie quickly looked up at Lea, her brows furrowed slightly at her words.

"If I had just told her to get into my car...none of this would be happening right now."

Natalie's eyes dropped from their gaze on Lea as she closed her notepad and slipped it back into her pocket. She then leaned forward, her elbows resting against her knees. "Listen, Lea. I know that you feel guilty...but, there is no reason to start blaming yourself. There was no way you could have known this was going to happen."

Lea took in a breath, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I know. But, I can't help it. I just feel like I'm the one to blame. I feel responsible. If I had done something differently...maybe she would still be here."

Natalie sighed in sympathy. She knew exactly how Lea was feeling, since, she herself, has felt this way far to many times. And in this past year, Natalie was able to truly accept that she was never to blame for anything. And seeing this young woman before her, Natalie felt like she needed to talk some truth into her.

"You've lost someone close to you, I know how you feel. Trust me. I've been through situations..." Natalie paused as she simmered momentarily in her thoughts. "...similar to this...too many times. And I did exactly what you are doing right now. I blamed myself for everything. Not a day went by where I didn't feel guilty about it."

Lea nodded her head curiously and wiped at her eyes. "Did you get past it?"

Natalie pursed her lips to the side. "I did. And, it wasn't easy. But, I had people in my life who loved me and assured me that none of it was my fault. That I wasn't to blame. Now, it took a lot of convincing on their part...but, they managed to get through to me. And you're lucky enough to have friends and family to help you through this. But, you have to be willing to accept that you are not to blame. None of this was your fault."

The moment between them was soon cut short as Natalie's phone began to go off. She smiled apologetically and pulled out her phone, answering the call. "Yeah."

"_Hey, meet us at the county morgue. We're gonna take a look at Alex's body." _Sam's voice came through the other end.

Natalie's eyes swept over to Lea. "Yeah, alright. I'll meet you there."

Natalie ended the call and stood up from the couch, "I'm sorry, I need to leave...there's something that I need to tend to." She said as she walked over to the front door with Lea following her.

Natalie suddenly stopped and looked back at her. "Remember what I said." Lea hesitated, but, then gave her a reassuring nod. Natalie gave her a small smile before leaving the house.

….

Natalie entered the building and showed her badge at the worker sitting at the counter and with a nod from him, she continued on her way down the hallway. Turning left, she found herself standing in front of the morgue doors and pushed them open.

Walking in, she could see Dean and Sam standing near the body freezers, talking to what looked like a doctor. As she came to a stop near Sam she cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the three men.

"Sorry about the wait." Natalie said, seeing the Doctor give her a look of understanding. "So my partners told me that you finished the autopsy of Alex's body?"

The doctor nodded and opened the freezer door, then pulled out the slab with Alex's body and quickly pulled away the sheet.

Natalie widened her eyes for a quick second then furrowed her brows as she scanned over Alex's body. Her chest had been stitched up and her right arm was stitched to her shoulder and her left leg had been partially stitched on the top section.

Natalie grimaced at the injuries. "I'm guessing her body was in a really bad state when they found her." Natalie said finally, looking up at the doctor.

"One of the worst conditions I have ever seen. Her arm was detached, her right leg was torn halfway and her chest was ripped open, heart was missing."

The three hunters heads quirked at these words as they casted a glance at each other. "So, do you have any idea as to what did this to her?" Natalie asked.

The doctor gazed down at Alex's body, covered the sheet back over her and pushed the slab back into the freezer. "It might sound a little off, but, a dog, maybe. But, I have never seen injuries like these caused by any kind of dog."

Dean nodded and shook the man's hand. "Thanks, doctor." He offered Dean a small nod then turned around and walked out of the morgue.

Natalie sighed and looked over at them. "So. Chest ripped open. Heart missing. Werewolf?"

"That's what I'm leaning towards." Dean said. "What did you get from Alex's friend?"

Natalie shook her head. "Not that much. She said that she and Alex were at the library, studying for exams. When they left, she offered to drive Alex home, but, she wanted to walk. And that was it."

Sam hummed in response. "Well that's not much to go on."

"Well, there is something else." Both Dean and Sam looked at her expectantly. "Lea said that Alex most likely went to visit Matt, her boyfriend, before she headed home."

"Most likely?" Sam questioned.

Natalie looked over at Sam and her eyes widened slightly at his less optimistic tone. "Yeah. I didn't get the chance to go talk to him, so I'm gonna head out there after this. If you two want to come with, you are more than welcome to."

Sam's phone began to go off and he quickly pulled it out. "Hello. Yeah...I'll be right there." Sam looked up at Dean and Natalie. "They found another body. I'm gonna go check it out so you two can go...check on him." Sam turned around and left the morgue.

Natalie made a face at how blunt Sam was and she looked over at Dean, who let out a breath and shrugged, brushing off her look, for now at least. "Let's get going, Nad. Who knows, this guy might be who we are looking for."

Natalie gave Dean a look. "Don't start thinking that just yet, Dean." She said, brushing past Dean. "Let's just talk to the guy first before we start passing our conclusions."

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><p>Dean and Natalie stood on the porch and he raised his hand, knocking against the door a few times. The two stood in silence for a brief moment, when the door opened, revealing a young man, who was staring at them cautiously.<p>

Dean and Natalie both offer him a smile as they show him their badges. "Agents Howard and Carson. We were wondering if we could talk with you."

Matt eyed them warily. "I already talked with the police about what happened with Alex."

Natalie raised her brows at this, since she and Dean didn't know and nodded. "I understand, but, we just need to clarify a few more things. If that's alright with you."

Matt let out a sigh, relenting to both Natalie and Dean, then stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind him. "Fine. But, I would much rather do it out here.

"That's fine." Natalie looked over at Dean, who gave her a small nod. "So, the police questioned you because Alex came to visit you the night she disappeared, right?"

Matt hesitated for a moment and then nodded his head. "Yeah, she did."

"Would you please tell us again what exactly happened when she arrived?" Natalie asked.

Matt slid his hands into his pockets. "She arrived around...9:40 and she didn't stay long. We just talked for a while, nothing to big. She left maybe around 10."

Both Dean and Natalie nodded though Dean decided to press his luck on his edging conclusion. "And, you didn't have any knowledge as to what happened to her...right?"

Matt gave Dean a look and shook his head. "Of course I didn't. I even offered to drive her home, but, she declined. We all live close together...walking from place to place isn't exactly an unnatural thing to happen here. I had absolutely no idea that...this would happen."

Natalie casted Dean a glance and then looked back at Matt. "We both understand Matt. It's just something that we need to ask."

Matt took in a breath and ran a hand through his hair. Natalie could see that he was getting a little emotional over talking about it and she felt sorry for him. "Are we done here?" He asked.

"Um..." Natalie looked over at Dean, who raised his brows at her, and she looked back at Matt. "Yeah, I suppose if you aren't wanting to go further."

"Thank you." Matt gave them a quick nod and turned around, quickly walking back into his house and closed the door.

Natalie and Dean stood in silence on the porch, their eyes remained on the door until they glanced over at each other. "Well then...that was the quickest questioning I've ever done." Dean commented.

The two of them turned around and headed down the porch steps, making their way back towards the Impala. "I guess we should head over to where Sam is...see what is going on over there." Natalie said.

"Yeah." Dean said. As they got closer to the car, Dean realized he didn't want to wait to talk with Natalie. He reached forward and grasped her arm, causing her to stop and turn to him. "Hey, Nad. Can I ask you something?"

Natalie furrowed her brows. "Yeah. Sure. What is it?"

Dean cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Have...have you noticed anything...different about Sam?"

Natalie gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Like. Does he seem a little...off to you?" Dean asked.

Natalie thought for a moment and shrugged. "Well, Dean, I haven't really been around him that much to come up with a decision. But, from what I have noticed he seems a little...distant. Almost like he is detached from everything."

Dean nodded, though Natalie's explanation wasn't really what he was expecting. The look on his face didn't slip past Natalie and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Dean. There's something else, isn't there?" Natalie asked and she could see by the look on his face that there was something he hasn't told her. "What's wrong?"

Dean sighed. "It had to do with that vampire case back in Illinois. I am not even sure if what I saw actually happened, I just, I need to talk about it."

Natalie nodded slowly. "Okay."

"When I drank the cure, I kind of had these flashbacks about everything that happened that night and there was this particular one...where I saw Sam and he-he watched me get turned."

Natalie's eyes widened and she blinked several times. Dean saw Natalie's reaction and felt like she thought he was crazy. "Like I said. I don't think what I saw was the real thing. Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me."

Natalie bit down on her lip, debating whether she should tell Dean what she heard Samuel and Sam talking about back at Illinois. "Or maybe you aren't imagining things."

Dean looked at her curiously. "What?"

Natalie opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, trying to think about how she should tell him. "Well...back in Illinois, after you left to get back to the nest...I overheard Sam and Samuel talking..."

Dean nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"And, Samuel said that he told Sam about the cure. Basically, saying that Sam allowed you to get turned because he knew there was a cure. So, naturally, I asked him about it and he just completely...shut me down. And the way he talked to me it was just...I don't know."

Natalie finished and allowed Dean to process the news, but, he seemed just a little to quiet about it all. Though, in all honesty. she didn't know exactly how he would react to it.

"You seem a little to quiet about all of this." Natalie finally said.

Dean looked up at her and sniffed then shook his head. "I really don't know what to think. I mean, Sam is..."

"Different." Natalie finished. "Well, I mean, how can we blame him Dean? He was in hell. And, sorry for bringing this up, but, when you came back from hell, I'm pretty sure you were a little different."

Dean took in Natalie's words and shrugged. "Yeah, that would change anyone. But, Sam, he would never do something like that..."

"What do you want to do then?" Natalie asked, after a brief silence.

Dean pursed his lips. "Right now, nothing. But, we need to keep an eye on him."

Natalie nodded. "Okay, then."

Dean fixed his tie and ushered her over to the car. "Let's go find Sam then."

...

Dean parked the Impala and the two of them got out. He held up the tape for Natalie to walk under and then followed. An approaching officer, caused them to pull out their badges and quickly showed him, allowing them access to the scene.

Sam, who was standing near the body, turned around and walked over to Dean and Natalie, the three of them huddling together. "Well?" Dean asked.

"Victims' chest was ripped open, missing heart, both arms were torn off and they had multiple lacerations on both legs. No doubt that this is a werewolf."

Natalie looked past Sam and over at the body that was covered in a bloodied sheet. "I'm kind of surprised though. I mean, most of the time, wouldn't they turn a few of their victims? I mean most of the people they find are dead."

"Unless, they have already turned someone and we just don't know about it yet." Sam added. "Also, this park, is the same place the first two victims were found along with Alex."

Natalie nodded and looked around her surroundings. "So, it seems like this is the werewolf's favorite feeding ground. It makes sense. This park is a pathway to the other neighborhoods. No doubt lots of people use this way."

"Yeah, well, we just need to find a way to get this thing." Dean said.

"True. I mean the thing could be anyone." Sam added.

Natalie looked at Sam and Dean then shrugged. "Then there is only one way. We lure it out." The two hunters looked at her. "We can come back here and I'll walk through the park, try and entice the thing out."

"No!"

"Fine."

Dean and Sam spoke at the same time, but, Dean looked over at Sam upon hearing his answer to Natalie's plan. And Natalie was anything but surprised at Sam's quick acceptance to her plan. Usually, there would have been some sort of argument coming from him, but, not this time.

"Are you kidding?" Dean asked Sam then looked back over at Natalie. "No. Were not gonna use you as bait, Nad."

Natalie eyed Sam a little longer, before looking back over at Dean. "Listen, like Sam said, we have no idea who it is. If I can draw the thing out, you two can gank it right on the spot. It's our best shot. Besides, I'd rather it be me then some random person."

Dean thought for a moment and then shook his head, causing Natalie to sigh. "No. I don't like it."

"Let's do it." Sam suddenly said.

"Sam, are you nuts?" Dean asked.

"Dean, Nad is right. It's the best and easiest way of getting this thing. And Nad is up for it."

"So, what?" Dean answered. "What if something goes wrong during it and she gets hurt...or worse?!"

"Dean, I don't want her getting hurt either." Natalie's eyes narrowed once Sam said this. There was something about the way his tone was that didn't sit well with her. "But, it is our best shot."

Dean continued to shake his head, not wanting to go on with the plan. Looking at Natalie, he knew that there was no way she was going to back out of it. Letting out a frustrated groan and Dean finally nodded. "Fine. We'll go with your way, Nad."

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><p><strong>So, how did you all like it?! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I am freaking out! Have you guys seen the clip from season 10! If not I'll put the link up on my profile so you guys can see it. I am literally shaking because I am so pumped for the new season!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>Natalie filled her gun with silver bullets and closed the clip, cocking the gun afterwards. She looked over at Dean, who was sitting across from her at the table, prepping himself for the hunt. Though, he had been very quiet throughout the entire time.<p>

Natalie set the gun down on the table and sat back in the chair, her eyes remaining on Dean. "You've been really quiet."

Dean finished putting in the rounds for his gun when he looked up at her. "You know that I don't like this idea."

Natalie nodded silently. "I know you don't."

"And I would put up an argument, but, I know that you would just fight me back. Plus, you have been hunting this past year..." Dean finished, cringing slightly. He still didn't like that she had been doing that.

"Exactly." Natalie interrupted. "I have hunted werewolves before Dean. I can take care of myself."

Dean sat up in his chair and looked around the room, realizing that Sam was out at the car getting a few more things. "I'll tell you one thing...Sam seemed a little to eager to let you do this."

Natalie looked up at Dean, feeling her body tense with her agreement, though, she didn't want to express it. "I don't know." Natalie said, not wanting to go to much into it. "He just wants to get this done."

Dean let out a light scoff. "I am not to sure about that."

Natalie sighed heavily. "Dean. Let's not talk about this right now. We just need to get ready and go out there and get this thing."

The motel door opened and Sam walked in, forcing both Dean and Natalie to stop their conversation. Sam walked over to where they were sitting. "Are you all set?"

Natalie looked up at him and slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. Got my gun loaded and my knife." She looked over at Dean quickly, but, just enough to see the tension in his face. "Should we go over the plan again?"

Sam gave her a shrug. "Might as well."

"Alright. I'll walk through the park, same pathway that the victims took. I'll have my phone ready, so that I can send the message to your phone. Once I do, you two come out and gank the thing."

"And what if something goes wrong?" Dean suddenly added.

Natalie looked over at Dean and then back at Sam, then simply shrugged. "Then I will kill it myself. Hence, why I am bringing my gun and knife." She said motioning at her gun on the table. "I've killed a few werewolves this past year...I think I'm good."

Dean shook his head and stood up from the chair. "I still don't like it."

Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whether you like it or not, I'm doing this. We already went over it several times and I'm doing it, Dean."

Natalie turned around and picked up her gun, sliding into her belt line and double-checked to make sure that her knife was secured. Looking up at the boys she raised her arms up. "Can we go so that we can get this done?"

Dean nodded timidly and picked up his gun, and then his jacket before turning around and walked out the door. Natalie stood for a moment and looked over at Sam, who gave her a stare that made her feel uneasy. She shook off the feeling and picked up her jacket and headed out the door with Sam close behind her.

….

The three of them stared out the car windows, their eyes scanning over the park, looking for any kind of sign of the creature, though, they didn't catch anything. But, Dean was hoping that they would spot the thing so they wouldn't have to let Natalie use herself as bait.

Natalie sighed. "Okay, then. It's not coming out. Time for me to get out there." She quietly opened the car door and stepped out, taking a quick check to make sure she had her gun and knife.

Closing the door carefully, she walked over to the passenger door, as Sam rolled down the window. "Okay. So wait for my message. In the meantime, you two need to get ready."

Dean gave her a small nod. "Be careful. If anything goes wrong, we're coming in there. Screw the plan."

"Yeah, I know." Natalie said. She looked over at Sam, seeing an almost pensive look on his face as he stared at her.

"Be careful, Nad." Sam finally said.

Natalie gave him a small forced smile and nodded. She turned around and took in a breath, then began trotting her way towards the pathway. During that time, she began to contemplate Sam's words. The way he said them and the tone in his voice, it didn't sit well with her. It was almost as if there was no...emotion in his voice.

Every time he looked at her, she had this chill go down her spine, and it wasn't the good kind. It felt like a warning. A nagging feeling, telling her that she needed to be careful. And it made her feel uneasy and confused. Why would she feel like that? Especially, when it came to Sam. Usually, she would feel comfortable and protected, whenever she was around him. And now, it was nothing but a form of coldness.

Even when she heard him and Samuel talking back in Illinois and everything that she heard put her on alert. Confronting Sam about it didn't really go the way she hoped it would.

_Maybe I'm just overreacting. I haven't even been around him that much. _Natalie thought to herself as she walked onto the pathway.

She looked ahead of her and took in a deep breath. The worn down pathway was surrounded by a dense forest of trees that blocked the moon from her view. The only light source was from a few street lights that surrounded the area.

Sliding her hands into her jacket pockets, Natalie began her walk down the pathway. _Just act casual._ She reminded herself, making sure not to let her alertness seep out to much. The wind began to pick up, blowing through the tree branches, creating an eerie rustling.

Only a few minutes into the walk, the faint sounds of footsteps, caused Natalie to halt in her steps. She remained silent and still, listening intently to the footsteps, which would stop only a few seconds after she would.

Natalie kept her attention on hearing for the footsteps as she began to walk again and the footsteps continued. She slowly pulled out her phone from her pocket and turned it on. She saw the message that was saved and she quickly pressed the send button and placed her phone back in her pocket.

As she looked back up, Natalie turned to the side, hearing footsteps that were being hidden behind the trees and they seemed to be all around her. She slowly backed up towards one of the trees behind her when she heard another set of footsteps right behind her.

Natalie quickly whipped around, seeing nothing but trees and darkness. _Where the hell are they? _She kept her focus on the spot in front of her, the footsteps slowly disappearing. Her brows furrow, as she began to debate whether she should follow where the footsteps were coming from.

Natalie looked around her, not seeing Dean or Sam coming, and she decided that in the meantime she would check it out. She slowly walked into the wooded area and she pulled out her phone to use it as light, since she didn't have a flashlight with her.

Continuing on through the area, Natalie slowly reached over and pulled out her gun, keeping it close to her. After walking for a short moment, she came to a small empty area in the middle of this area. She looked around her when the sound of something snapping came from behind her.

Natalie tightened her grip on her gun as she slowly turned around. A heavy force went across her face, sending her to the ground and in the process of falling she had accidentally shot off a round from her gun and her head hit against the trunk of a tree. Her head throbbed and her ears began to ring from the hit. She could feel something hot running down the side of her face and she knew that it was blood.

Rolling onto her back, she could see the werewolf beginning to approach her. She quickly pushed herself up and realized that her gun was no longer in her grasp. In a quick act, she pulled out her knife and went to stab it in the chest when it took hold of her arm. Natalie kicked it in the leg, allowing its grip on her arm to loosen, then she threw an elbow hit into its stomach and then sliced a cut against its chest.

The creature let out a scream and had knocked the knife out of Natalie's hand during its fit. She stood in place, eyes staring wide at the creature as it finally recovered and glared at her.

"_Shit."_

Natalie quickly turned around and ran as fast as she could from the creature. The sound of impending footsteps were fast approaching her. Her heart was pounding, her chest was heaving from her panting and her legs were already beginning to numb. _Come on keep going. _She just needed to keep herself calm and focused on running.

Though she couldn't help thinking about what was taking Sam and Dean so long to get there. They should have been in position a little bit away, but, they should have seen everything that was going on. And now here she was, running from the werewolf who was now beyond pissed at her, no knife, no gun not even her phone. Nothing to defend herself with and no way to communicate with Dean and Sam.

Natalie came to a halt as she looked around her, knowing that she needed a moment of rest, but, she needed to get out of sight. Natalie quickly rushed over to one of the trees and hid behind it. The fast approaching footsteps came to a stop and she held in her breath, waiting for the creature to wander off.

Reaming silent, Natalie could hear the werewolf sauntering around, sniffing up at the air and letting out a few frustrated grunts. The creature let out one final huff before running off in one of the directions.

Natalie slowly moved around to the front of the tree, her eyes scanning around in the darkness for any sign of it. In a split second, she began to run back towards the direction where she had come from. She needed to find her weapons and phone and try to find Sam and Dean.

She could see that she was close to here she was before, when something grabbed the back of her jacket and threw her backwards, her back hitting against another tree and her body fell to the ground. Natalie pushed herself up weakly, feeling the blood flow from her head increase and she could feel herself becoming dizzy.

The werewolf walked over to her, grasping her by the neck and hoisting her up against the tree. Her hands clawed at his arm, trying desperately to get out of his grasp, but, the dizziness and the blurriness that was clouding her vision was forbidding her from doing much else.

It inched closer to her, taking in a deep breath, inhaling her scent. It pressed its claws against her chest ready to rip it open when a gunshot rippled through the air. The werewolf let out a scream as it dropped Natalie, allowing her to slump to the ground.

Natalie slowly fell to her side, feeling her body become overwhelmed by an intense chill and a powerful sense of exhaustion washed over her. Through her blurred vision, she could spot two people coming up, one of them shooting another around into the werewolf's chest, causing it to fall to the ground.

Natalie allowed her eyes to close, wanting nothing to do but sleep in this moment. She felt two hands cup her face and the voice that came along with it gave her a sense of peace.

"Hey, Nad." Dean said, tapping the side of her face gently. "Nad come on, keep your eyes open." Dean added, taking a brief look at her head wound.

"Dean...Sam..." Natalie groaned as the throbbing in her head soon returned.

"Nad, it's okay. Just don't talk." Dean said quickly.

"Dean...where...w-were..."

"Shh. Nad don't talk alright. Just take it easy. We're gonna get you out of here." Dean said. Glancing up at Sam, his gaze hardened. "I knew that this was a stupid idea."

Dean turned back to Natalie and slid his arm under her legs and the other behind her back, then lifted her up, adjusting his hold on her that so she was situated comfortably in his arms. "We gotta get her back to the motel. We'll come back to take care of this later." Dean said motioning at the dead werewolf.

Sam looked down at the creature quickly then gave his brother a nod. "Let's go then."

* * *

><p>Natalie felt herself coming back to her senses and she could hear the soft, yet, firm whispering of two people, and she knew that it was Sam and Dean. She blinked her eyes open and slowly sat up, her palm reaching up to press against her head and she hissed in pain.<p>

"Hey. Take it easy." Dean's voice came through as he rested his hand on her shoulder.

Natalie took a minute to allow her eye sight to settle, creating a clear visual of Dean sitting next to her and Sam standing at the foot of her bed. She looked around confusingly, seeing that the sun was just beginning to rise. "How long was I out?"

"Couple of hours. We tried keeping you awake, but, we decided to just keep an eye on you." Dean explained. He leaned forward and gently pressed a few fingers to the side of her head, taking a look at her wound. "It still looks fine. Here." Dean offered a bottle of water, which Natalie took. "Drink that."

Natalie nodded. "Yes, sir." She opened up the bottle and took a few drinks from it. When she was finished, she looked over at Dean and Sam, seeing the looks on their faces. "What?"

Dean shook his head. "First off, I told you that it was a stupid idea using you as bait." Natalie rolled her eyes. "And second, why the hell would you wander off Nad?"

"Where the hell were you two at?" Natalie asked, switching the subject around on them.

Dean looked at her a little confused. "What do you mean?"

Natalie let out a light scoff. "I sent the message to Sam's phone, just like we had planned." Natalie and Dean both looked at Sam, who didn't seem phased.

"I never got the message, Nad." Sam said.

Natalie furrowed her brows and her eyes narrowed for a brief second. "No...no, I pulled my phone out as soon as I heard the werewolf. I sent the message. I know I did."

Sam shrugged, his face adorned with what looked like genuine confusion. "Nad. I waited for it. I never got your message."

"We got into our position, waiting for your message. And as the minutes ticked by, I can tell you that I was getting antsy." Dean added.

Natalie shook her head confusingly, groaning at the pain in her head. "How did you guys find me?"

"We heard a gunshot and we took off running. The damn thing was howling and we followed the sound to this open patch where we found your knife, gun and phone. So we just continued on straight through and that's when we found you with the werewolf holding you by the neck. Guess you can say we got there just in time."

Natalie nodded at Dean's words, taking them in slowly. "Well, that entire plan just went wrong, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did. And we are never going to do something like that ever again, I don't care what you say Nad. Capiche?"

Natalie nodded and sighed at Dean's words. "Yeah, I got it."

"Good." Dean stood up from the bed. "I'm gonna take a shower. That means you get some more rest before we head out."

Natalie gave Dean a small salute, causing him to smirk as he disappeared into the bathroom. Natalie could feel an awkward silence fall between her and Sam, who was still standing at the foot of her bed.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

Natalie looked up at him, a little surprised that he asked her. "Fine, I guess. My head hurts. Other than that I'm fine."

Sam nodded silently, his eyes still remaining on her, which began to make her feel a little uneasy. "Good. Well, I'm gonna start loading things into the car."

"Okay." Natalie pulled her knees to her chest, watching as Sam began to gather up a few of the bags. As he headed for the door, Natalie couldn't help herself. "Hey, Sam?"

Sam stopped and turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

Natalie bit down on her lip. "Are you okay? I mean, do you feel alright?"

Sam gave her a confused nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Nodding her head skeptically, she gave him a small smile. "Okay. Just wanted to make sure."

Sam gave her another confused nod, before walking out of the motel room.

Natalie sighed and looked over at the nightstand, seeing her phone, she picked it up and went to her messages. Clicking on Sam's name she saw the last message she had sent him and it said that it had been delivered. Natalie looked up, confused, and on the table near the door, she spotted Sam's cell phone.

She slowly got out of bed and shuffled walked over to the table and picked up the phone. After familiarizing herself with it, she found the messages and clicked on her name. Seeing the last message, Natalie could feel herself overcome with confusion and anger.

It was proof for her that there was something going on with Sam. That everything Dean told her was true. All of the uneasy feelings she had while being around him, the cold chill that ran down her spine, all of it, have now made sense to her.

Natalie shut off his phone and placed it back on the kitchen table. Looking out the motel window, she saw Sam situating the bags around in the car and although she was pissed, a sense of sadness fell over her. He wasn't the same person she knew a year ago. He wasn't the Sam who meant so much to her.

Natalie turned around and walked back over to the bed, hoping to get a little more time at sleeping and she silently hoped that it would help take the edge off of her anger and confusion. But, for some reason she couldn't stop thinking about the message. The message that she had sent to him...the one that he ignored.

_It's a go._

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><p><strong>So what did you all think?! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all!_

_**Marloweee1856:**__ I do plan on writing through all of the seasons. As long as they keeping on pumping out new seasons, I will be writing them. I do admit, once I saw the clip for season ten, I immediately began to work out how I was going to put Nad into all of it. In fact, it was like that throughout all of season nine. But, yes, I will be writing all of the seasons :)_

_**frodofreakingbaggins:**__ Someone has to look after Nad during this time :) I was also hoping to try and broaden Dean and Nad's friendship during Sam's soulless period._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>"There was a case over in Michigan about gruesome killings...and it turned out to be a werewolf. But, we got the thing." Natalie said into her phone, pacing back and forth a little bit away from the car.<p>

"_You didn't get hurt did you?" _Marina's voice came through the other end.

"Kind of. I almost got killed by the thing...but, Dean and...Sam...got there in time and killed the thing."

"_I swear Nad, you are more rebellious with hunting nowadays then you were a year ago."_

Natalie scoffed. "Well, I've been through a lot Mari. And I can't say that it's going to change anytime soon."

"_Well, what's it like being back on the road with Sam and Dean again?"_

"It's fine. Exactly how it was before...well at least almost the same. I mean, they both know that I'm still...upset, but, it's a lot better than I thought it would be."

There was a small silence on the other end of the line and Natalie was curious as to why her sister was so quiet. _"You don't sound to enthusiastic about it. Did something happen?"_

Natalie sighed, thinking how her sister could always tell when something was wrong. It was something that Natalie often wished Marina couldn't do. "Yeah, something did happen...but, it's not a big deal. It's something that I need to deal with myself."

"_Are you sure you don't want to tell me? Is it something that I can help you with?"_

"No, Mari. I know you're worried, but, trust me. Everything is fine. It's just a small thing that I need to handle. No big deal." Natalie finished, hoping her sister would accept her explanation.

"_Alright, if you say so."_

Natalie sighed in relief and smiled. "Thanks. How is Emily doing?"

"_She's fine. Ethan dropped us off back at Aunt Clara's house a few days ago and Emily already misses you. She's been a little fussy since we came back."_

Natalie smiled, thinking back to her baby niece. "Well, give her a kiss from me and I promise I will try and visit soon."

"_Don't stress yourself out too much, Nad. Just come whenever you can." _The sound of Emily crying in the background came through the phone line. _"Hey, Nad, I need to go. I'll call you later."_

"Okay, Mari. Bye." Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call. Taking a deep breath, she slid the phone back into her pocket and turned around, making her way back over to the Impala, where Dean was leaning against the vehicle.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked, once she reached him.

"Just Mari." Natalie answered.

"Well, I just got off the phone with Bobby, told him about what happened back in Illinois." Dean said.

Natalie hesitated and shook her head. "So you really think there is something up with Sam?"

"I mean it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out, right? Bobby said that he was going to try and find something. Anything that could give us an explanation." Dean asked.

Natalie looked over at Sam, who was standing in line at a hot dog stand, her face and body tensing just by looking at him. All she could think about was how he lied about the message. Why would he do that? She wanted to know the answer, but, a part of her actually didn't want to know.

Dean furrowed his brows, seeing how tense Natalie got, and he followed her gaze over to Sam and then looked back over at her. "Nad?"

Natalie blinked and looked over at Dean. "Yeah?"

"Are you alright? You look a little...tense." Dean said, shrugging his shoulders in the process.

Natalie bit down on her lip, debating on telling Dean what happened back at their last job. The whole thing with Sam lying about the message. "Yeah, uh, I'm just a little bothered by something that happened back at the last hunt...with the werewolf." Dean nodded, turning his attention fully to her. "You remember when you asked me if I noticed anything different about Sam...and I said he seemed a little distant...but, I didn't think there was really anything wrong with him."

"Yeah. I mean like you said, you haven't been around him much to really come up with an answer." Dean said.

"Yeah. Well, now...I think I change my mind."

Dean looked at Natalie curiously. "Nad, what happened?" Dean saw Natalie hesitate, knowing that she was debating on telling him what happened. "Nad. Come on. Tell me."

"Okay, remember when we talked about what went wrong during our plan? And I said that I sent the message..."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, Sam said that he didn't get the message...but, really...he-"

"Hey." Sam walked up to them, handing over the food to both of them. "Have you tried calling Lisa again?"

Dean looked over at Sam, pushing his conversation with Natalie to the back of his mind and nodded. "Yeah, she didn't answer."

"Sucks." Sam answered bluntly. "You okay?"

Dean looked over at Sam and shrugged. "Yeah. I'm fine. How are you?"

Natalie gazed over at Sam, her eyes staring him down at Dean's question. "Me? I'm fine." Sam answered and handed over a newspaper to Dean. "Check this out. Think it might be something."

Natalie walked over and stood next to Dean, looking down at the newspaper in his hands.

"Four people, out of nowhere, all in the last couple of weeks. What do you two say?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan." Dean answered.

Natalie finished scanning the article and nodded. "I guess."

* * *

><p>After she had done her own sweep of the house, Natalie leaned against the wall, looking at Sam who was talking with Olivia, one of the victim's sister. Dean was in the room behind where they were, taking his own look around the room.<p>

"I don't understand. Why would federal investigators be interested in a suicide?" Olivia asked.

"Well, um...it's a new, more caring administration." Sam said.

"Well, I already told the cops. Jane was having a really bad day, so I did what any sister would do." Olivia began to play with her hair. "I tried to cheer her up, you know? Told her to hang in there."

Dean walked into the living room and stood next to Natalie, both of them casting glances at each other.

"You know what a 'tell' is?" Sam suddenly asked.

Olivia looked at Sam, confused. "Excuse me?"

"It's a poker term...for when you're bluffing. Like what you just did with your hair."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're lying." Sam answered.

Natalie and Dean both stare at Sam, surprised at how he was forcing his accusation on her.

"What?!" Olivia called out and looked over at Natalie and Dean.

"Tell us what you did." Sam added.

"Sam." Natalie quickly said, to try and get him to back down.

"Tell us what you did to your sister." Sam said once again. Natalie looked over at Dean, her brows furrowed in confusion and shock.

"Okay. You're right. I was lying." Dean and Natalie looked at Olivia, their eyes widening. "I wanted to tell her, 'I love you. I'm here for you.' But, what came out was...'You're a burden. Just kill yourself.' Who says that?! I couldn't stop!"

Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing how his face was adorned with accomplishment. There was something with how the way he looked that caused her to tense up once again. Just the way it made her feel, it sent a chill down her spine.

….

Dean, Sam and Natalie walked out of the house and made their way back over to the Impala. "Did you two see anything in the house?" Sam finally asked.

"No hex bags, no sulfur, no EMF." Dean looked over at Natalie. "What about you?"

"Nothing much. A tuba and an issue of Crochet Today." Natalie said.

"So, what, do you two think she was already kinda suicidal?" Sam asked.

"Maybe. If she is, then big sis's taxicab confession sends her over the edge." Dean added.

"Yeah, but, why would she even say something like that? I mean usually people can hold back what they want to say...well, at least most people. Olivia doesn't seem like someone who thought of her sister as a 'burden'." Natalie finished, stopping next to the car.

"Well, that's the one thing that we have to figure out." Dean added.

Natalie nodded and felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and she quickly pulled it out. "Hello?...Yes. I'll be right there." Natalie ended the call and looked up at Sam and Dean. "There's been another one. I'm gonna go check it out."

"Let me drop you off in town then." Dean said.

"No. It's fine, I'll just walk. The town isn't that far from here."

Dean gave her a look. "You sure?"

"Yeah. You two head out. I'll call you once I have the details." Natalie finished and walked down the side of the street, back towards town.

* * *

><p>Natalie had gone to the police station to talk with Dr. Connelly, who had committed the crime, but, he had hung himself before she had arrived. Now she was standing before a young woman, who had seen what had happened and was still clearly shaken by the ordeal.<p>

"Can you explain to me what happened?" Natalie asked.

"I was helping Dr. Connelly with his appointment with Kenny and he asked me to go and retrieve gauze for the procedure. When I came back..." She took a deep breath. "...there was blood all over the place and he was...drilling his mouth."

Natalie closed her eyes briefly and nodded, cringing slightly. "And, did Dr. Connelly say why he did what he did?"

"He said that Kenny was saying...awful things."

Natalie furrowed her brows curiously. "What kind of things?"

The woman bit down on her lip. "He said that Kenny had...slept with his daughter, while she was over at his house."

Natalie's brows raised. "O-oh. And that's all he said. Nothing more."

"That's all that Dr. Connelly said."

Natalie nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

The woman gave Natalie a small nod and walked back into the police station. Natalie let out a sigh and pulled out her phone, dialing out Dean's number, then placed it to her ear. After a couple of rings, the call was finally answered.

"_You're on speaker, Nad."_

"Hey, so I just got done talking with the assistant to Dr. Connelly. I couldn't talk with him because, before I arrived, he had hung himself in his cell."

"_Whoah. That's unfortunate. What did you find out?"_

"All I know is that if someone said what I heard to my father, he would have done the exact same thing. Hell, I would have too. I mean, he drilled his patient to death."

"_Damn. Root canal from hell. It sounds like they were cursed, I mean it sounds like one, right? People are compelled to puke the truth all over everyone?" _Dean began to spill out theories.

"Curse sounds like the cause to me. But, I was gonna head over to the dentist's office, so if you two wanted to meet me there."

"_I'll meet you there, Sam is gonna head over to the morgue to check out the body."_

"Okay, I'll meet you there in ten." Natalie said, then ended the call and placed her phone back in her pocket then began to make her way over to the office.

….

Natalie stood outside, near the front entrance of the dentist office, waiting for Dean to arrive. The sound of the Impala soon roared down the road and she turned, seeing Dean parking the car near the curb on the street.

Dean got out of the car and quickly made his way across the street as Natalie walked over to meet him. "Hey." Dean said as they both made their way over to the door that led to the office.

After he made sure that no one was watching them, Dean opened the door, letting Natalie walk in first and then followed her. Once they reached the room, he lifted the police tape as they both walked under it.

Natalie walked in and made her way over to the chair that was still stained with blood and she immediately cringed at the amount of it. "She was not kidding when she said he drilled him to death." She commented as she looked over at Dean, who made a face at the mess on the chair.

They both made their way into Dr. Connelly's office and began to sift through his desk. Dean went through the desk drawers as Natalie scouted through the various papers and picked up a receipt from Harry's House of Horns.

"Hey, look at this." She handed the receipt over to Dean, who read it.

"This looks familiar." Dean said, pointing down at the small piece of paper.

"Yeah, I saw the name on Jane's calendar..."

"And there was a note about a dental appointment." Dean finished looking up at her.

"You think we should go and check out this place?" Natalie asked.

"Seems like a good idea." Dean said.

Dean and Natalie quickly made their way out of the office and walked out, closing the door and made their way over to the Impala. Dean stopped at the drivers side door and looked over at Natalie, who had opened the door and was about to get into the car, when he remembered something.

"Hey, Nad." Natalie paused and looked up at him. "What were you going to say to me earlier? About Sam."

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. "Dean I don't think now is the time."

"You might as well tell me now. Because, I'm starting to get antsy just being around him. What happened?"

Natalie sighed and closed the door. "He lied, Dean."

Dean gave her a confused look. "About what?"

Natalie leaned her arms against the car. "When I said that I sent the message to him, and he said that he never got it...he lied, Dean."

Dean's expression soon filled with a grim confusion. "What? How do you know?"

"I was curious. So, I checked his phone and I saw my message." Natalie paused and let out a pained laugh. "Dean, he lied to me. He purposely ignored my message. He...he almost got me killed."

Dean broke his gaze on her and hung his head, silently taking in the information that he had just heard from her. Though she began to regret ever telling him this. It's not that she wasn't going to tell him, Natalie wanted to wait for the right time. And during the middle of a job is not exactly the ideal place in time to tell him something like this. If anything she wanted to wait until they were finished to drop the info on him.

Dean slowly shook his head and looked back up at her, not knowing what to say. He couldn't think of anything to say that would give her any kind of reassurance about what Sam had done. "Nad..."

"Dean. We can get into a full discussion about this later, but, we need to get this done. Okay? Please just leave it alone for now." Natalie begged and she could see the hesitant relent in his eyes.

"Come on, let's get to this shop." Natalie said, forcing her tone to turn light to lift the tension in the mood. She gave Dean a forced smile and then opened the door and slid into the front seat.

Dean tapped his fingers against the top of the car, feeling his head already beginning to fill with confusion. He believed what Natalie said because why would she lie to him about something like that? He was just having a hard time believing that Sam would actually do something that could have gotten Natalie killed. And that thought alone was making him become angry, even more angry than how he felt once he realized Sam watched him get turned.

Dean decided to leave it alone for now, but, there was no mistaken that he was going to find out what was wrong with Sam, no matter what it took. He and Natalie both deserved an explanation for all of this. He opened the car door and quickly slid in then turned on the engine and began to make his way to the shop.

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><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Also, I will be trying to get as much up as possible before school starts again. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>Dean and Natalie walked into the shop and made their way over to the counter. Spotting a man standing at the counter, Dean cleared his throat.. "Excuse me?" Dean spoke, causing the man to look up at them. "Are you the owner of this place?"<p>

The man nodded his head. "Agents James and Connors." Dean said as both he and Natalie show their badges. "We were wondering if you recognize these two people." Dean presented two photos of Jane and Dr. Connelly.

Harry picked up the two photos and examined them for only a moment, before, setting them back down on the counter. "Jane and Dr. Connelly. Of course I know about them and I heard what happened. It's awful. So, what do I have to do with what happened?"

"Sir, both Dr. Connelly and Jane had something in relation to you...you are the only connection between them. Did they say anything to you by any chance?" Natalie asked.

Harry shook his head. "Sorry. Not really."

"So, you didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary?" Dean tried again only to have Harry shake his head once again. "Right. We were just fishing. Thanks." Dean and Natalie both turned around to leave the shop.

"Hey, by the way, how about my horn?" Harry suddenly asked, causing Dean and Natalie to turn back to him.

Natalie gave him a confused look. "I'm sorry. What?"

"The stolen horn?" Harry clarified.

Natalie looked over at Dean. "Right. Yeah. We're—we're working on it." Dean said.

"Well, I hope so. Thing's one in a billion."

Dean now seemed a little curious. "What makes it one in a billion again?"

"It's a museum piece. And near as anyone can tell, about a thousand years old." Harry pulls out a photo of the artifact.

Dean and Natalie walk back over the counter, both of them scanning over the image."Where's it from?" He questioned.

"No one knows."

"When did the item get stolen?" Natalie asked.

"About...two weeks ago. Same day that Jane died."

Dean paused and looked over at Natalie and she could see the pensive look on his face. Her brows furrowed and gave him a small shake of her head. 'What?' She mouthed to him.

He thought for a moment and then turned back to Harry. "Thank you for your time." Dean motioned for Natalie to follow. She gave Harry a small smile then turned around and left the store with Dean.

"What was that look for?" Natalie asked, as she walked beside with him. "Does that Horn mean anything to you?"

"Yeah, I think so. Not that long ago, Cas came to us, telling us about an angel named Balthazar who stole some weapons from heaven and were using them to exchange for people's souls. This Horn sounds like something Cas would be interested in. Plus, it might be the explanation as to why everyone is spilling the truth."

Natalie huffed and pursed her lips. "Wow. So, a lot has happened while I was gone then."

Dean remained quiet for a moment. "Yeah."

Natalie looked over at him, seeing that he was thinking about something else and she already knew what it was. "Dean. Don't let yourself get wrapped up over what I said."

"How can I not?" Dean asked. He stopped and took hold of Natalie's arm, causing her to look at him.

"Dean, just don't worry about it." Natalie said, trying to get him to let go of the subject.

"Sorry, I can't just get over it Nad. I mean he almost got you killed. You really expect me to just not think about it?"

Natalie huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I expect you to not worry about it right now. It's not the best time to talk about it, Dean."

"You say that Nad, but, I think now is probably the best time to discuss this."

"Dean we are in the middle of a job. Please, just drop it." Natalie practically begged.

"How can you ask me to do that Nad?" Dean asked, only to have her scoff and shake her head at his words. "Because I know how you are." He continued. "I recognize that act you put on whenever you try to hide something, when you try to hide how you really feel. And I can see you doing that right now."

Natalie pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek and closed her eyes. That was one of the things she didn't miss. That fact that Dean was always good at seeing past her veil. She hated that he wanted to talk about this right now. _Why can't he just wait?_

The silence between them continued on as Natalie remained quiet, going through her choices. Whether to talk about it now or continue to put it off. And it was something that Dean could see. No matter how hard she asked him, he wasn't going to let this go.

"Nad? This isn't something you would easily forget. Just tell me."

"Okay, fine!" Natalie suddenly called out, causing Dean to stare at her, a little taken back.

"You're right, I am pissed. I'm pissed because he lied about it and he ignored my message and because of that, I almost got killed. But, you know what, it's not that he almost got me killed that really gets to me, it's because that's something Sam wouldn't do. And you know what...that's not Sam. That's not your brother and he's most definitely not the guy I met over a year ago. You know when I offered to attract that werewolf out, Sam, the real Sam, he would have been persuading me to not do it. He would have made sure that we never went on with that plan. But, he...he didn't even hesitate. From what I saw he was more than eager to throw me out there. You know, I haven't been around him enough but, every time I'm near him, I get this uncomfortable feeling. Almost like he is this bomb waiting to expload. Just standing next to him sets me on edge. After what he did...to you and me...as far as I'm concerned, I'd much rather not be around him."

Natalie finally went silent, at first, not realizing what she had just said. But, seeing the look on Dean's face, she could feel the realization finally beginning to sink in. The first thing she felt was confusion. She was never someone who would just blurt out the truth like that, but, it was the truth. That was exactly how she felt about it.

Natalie let out a breath and ran a hand through her hair. "That, um. That wasn't what I wanted to say..." She finished weakly, knowing that Dean wasn't going to believe her.

"No. That's how you really feel. Isn't it?" He finally asked.

Natalie looked up at him, seeing the empathy pouring from his expression. She quickly wiped at her eyes then turned around and made her way back over to the Impala.

Dean watched Natalie walk over to the car, not even trying to say anything else to her. Though, he was slightly confused. Natalie never actually gave in that easily and if she did, she was always careful not to get to emotional over it. But, what he just saw, was her breaking down.

He felt that all of her anger was not only from what Sam did to her...but, everything else. Him and Bobby. All she had been through. She was letting it out. And he could feel his guilt eating away at him, feeling partially responsible for the hurt he saw in her eyes.

Dean cleared his throat and swallowed a couple of times, regaining his composure and slowly made his way back over to the car.

* * *

><p>The warm water splashed against her face, running down her skin and dripped back into the sink. Taking in a few deep breaths, Natalie gazed into the mirror, seeing that were eyes were still red from her crying fit she had while staying in the bathroom. And she hated every minute of it. Now she hoped that washing her face would rid of the evidence.<p>

As she continued staring at her reflection, her hands tightened around the edges of the sink and she closed her eyes. "Keep it together. Stop it. Stop." She whispered to herself, hoping it was enough to stop herself from breaking down anymore.

"_Are you kidding me? I have been on red alert about Sam, and you come for some stupid horn?!"_

Natalie's head tilted to the side once she heard Dean's voice and it sounded like he was talking with something. Grabbing the towel from the handle, she quickly patted her face, dropped the towel in the sink and walked out of the bathroom. Much to her surprise, she saw Castiel standing in front of Dean.

"You asked me to be here, and I came."

"I've been asking you to be here for days, you dick!" Dean called out.

Castiel gave Dean an apologetic look, but, soon his attention was focused on Natalie, who gave him a very faint smile. "Hello, Natalie."

"Hey, Cas." Natalie walked over to the table and sat down. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Castiel nodded. "Yes, it has. I have to say, it's nice seeing you back here with Dean and Sam."

Natalie faintly cringed at the mention of Sam. "Yeah...it's been...interesting, I can tell you that."

Castiel could sense the hesitation in her voice and he began to nod. "You both have noticed something off about Sam."

"Oh, yeah, you think?" Dean added.

"But, I didn't come about Sam because I have nothing to offer about him." Castiel said.

"Well, that's great, because for all we know, he's just gift wrap for Lucifer."

"No, he's not Lucifer." Castiel clarified.

"And how exactly do you know that?" Dean asked.

"If Lucifer escaped the cage, we'd feel it."

Natalie scoffed and raised her brows. "Well, then, if Lucifer isn't the answer, then what exactly is wrong with Sam then?"

"I don't know. Look, I'm sorry that I don't have answers for you two...really I am."

Dean scoffed. "What happened to you, Cas? You used to be human, or at least like one."

"I'm at war. Certain...regrettable things are now required of me."

Dean turned back to his laptop that had an article on the horn. "And, uh, Gabriel's Horn of Truth? That's a real thing?"

"You've seen it?" Castiel questioned.

"Yeah, we think it's in town. Something's forcing people to..." The sound of wings fluttering appeared and Castiel was no longer in the room. "Oh, you...well, then, you're welcome you son of a bitch."

Natalie leaned back against her chair and let out a sigh. "It's not the Horn of Truth." Castiel's voice appeared once again.

Dean looked over at him. "What are you talking about? You were gone for like two seconds. Where did you look?"

"Everywhere."

"Right. Well, nice seeing you, anyways."

"Dean."

"What?"

"About Sam. I...I don't know what's wrong with him, I really don't. But, I do want to help. I'll make inquiries." Castiel said, before leaving both of them in silence.

"Yeah. Thanks." Dean said. He turned around and grabbed his jacket from the chair and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Natalie finally asked.

"Out. You wanna come?" Dean asked, turning back to her.

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. I'm fine."

Dean stood near the door, feeling like he needed to say something to her, but, nothing was coming to his mind. "I'll be back then." He said then walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Natalie could feel something shaking her gently by the shoulder, gradually pulling her out of her slumber. Her eyes blinked open and she saw Dean looming over her, trying to get her to wake up.<p>

"Hey. Come on, Nad." Dean spoke gently.

Her eyes closed again as she slowly pushed herself up from the bed and swung her legs to the side and stood up. Over on the table, she could see a cat skull and a small box and her eyes widened in confusion. "What's with the remains over there?"

Sam looked up at Natalie. "Found it in the home of one of the suicide victims."

Natalie nodded and then shook her head. "Okay. And? I don't think I'm catching on."

Sam sighed and looked back in the box. "Well, we have a cat skull, uh, grains of paradise seed, devil's shoestring. Mix them well, you got yourself a summoning spell."

Natalie hummed. "So, like a summoning for a demon or, what?"

Sam let out a laugh. "No. Here." He turned his laptop for her to see and she walked over to the table, though kept a small distance between her and Sam. "Summoning for a God, specifically, Veritas, Goddess of Truth. Corey, the victim's girlfriend, was so desperate for the truth about her boyfriend's cheating heart, she went digging around. Nothing panned out, so she went looking for a different kind of help."

"Opened a door that she couldn't close." Dean added.

Natalie shook her head. "Why can't people just leave these things alone?"

"Yeah, but now, anyone in town who asks aloud for the truth invokes Veritas."

Natalie huffed. "That's what happened earlier." She said, directing it towards Dean, who nodded.

Sam looked at them. "What?"

"Nothing." Natalie shook her head. "So, basically, ask for the truth and you get hit with it, hard enough to where you kill yourself."

"Basically. You kill yourself and she gets her tribute." Sam said.

"So, all that 'tribute' vanishing from the morgue. What do you think, uh, Soylent Green situation?" Dean asked.

"Gods got to eat, too. Which means we got to take her out or you're on the menu."

"Alright, well, what do we know, besides crazy cat lady?"

"Well, dogs are her achilles heel."

Dean hummed. "Naturally."

"And she was a pretty hands on goddess back in the day. Her thing was coming down from the mountain to speak truth to the masses. She wanted more than tribute. She wanted to be worshipped."

Natalie scoffed. "She seeks out for to much attention."

"Well, what is the 21st century version of speaking truth to the masses?" Dean questioned.

Natalie stared at the computer screen, her mind searching through various options when her mind finally clicked. "It's simple." She said, turning to Sam and Dean. "Who do we go to when we want to know what's going on in our town, or even the world? The news."

...

A laptop is perched on a chair as Sam, Dean and Natalie sit on the bed, watching various footage from a show called 'Frank Talk'. This went on for quite sometime. Changing out finished videos for another one and it was time consuming and not to mention, boring. Natalie had never felt this bored in a while, not since she had to stay at Bobby's after she got shot.

"_I'm Ashley Frank, bringing you Frank talk."_

Sitting on the bed, Dean and Natalie drank the coffee Sam had gone out to get them, continuing their watching of the footage. "She's creepy." Dean spoke up. "I mean, the hair alone. I don't know. Maybe there's nothing here."

Sam sighed and began to increase the video speed. "Maybe."

Natalie groaned and laid back on the bed, setting her coffee down on the ground and closed her eyes. As the minutes ticked by, the video watching continued, causing Natalie and Dean to get up every once in a while, though, Sam kept in the same place, hardly moving an inch.

Dean sat at the table with Natalie sitting next to him. She finally turned to him. "Hey. You didn't say anything to him...did you?"

Dean looked over at Natalie and shook his head. "No. Are you alright, though?"

Natalie tapped her fingers against the table as she looked back over at Sam. "You already know the answer to that."

"Hey. Check this out." Sam said, pausing the video.

Natalie and Dean get up from the table and walk over to the laptop, seeing that Ashley's eyes were glowing. "Wait, zoom in." Dean said.

Sam quickly magnifies the image and the glow in her eyes were even clearer. "Well, then." Natalie said. "I'm thinking she might be our Goddess."

Dean parks the Impala outside of a huge house, one that Natalie couldn't help but admire for a moment. "Looks pretty normal, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure inside it's chock full of creep." Dean commented. Dean picks up his knife and looks at Sam, then Natalie. "You two ready?"

"Yep." Sam held up a jar that was killed with a dark red substance.

"And that's?" Dean began to questioned.

"Dog blood."

Natalie stared at the jar in his hands. "Oh my god."

"Do I even want to know where you got that?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "Probably not." He said, opening the jar and dipped his knife in. Handing the jar towards Natalie, she dipped her knife in and then pulled it out. Dean then quickly did the same thing.

"Okay. Let's go." Dean said.

The three of them got out of the car and walked across the street towards the front door. Sam pulled out his lock picks and unlocked the door with ease. They quietly crept into the house, gazing into various rooms and found nothing that would be considered abnormal.

"So, where's all the creep?" Sam quietly commented.

The sound of tiny feet pattering against the hardwood floor caught their attention and they turned to look, just in time to see a cat scurrying down a flight of stairs. They followed the cat and soon found themselves in a different room. The cat is sitting on top of a gurney, licking at a bloodied corpse.

Natalie covered her mouth, keeping down the bile she felt threatening to rise up. _That's disgusting. _In the middle of the room, on a meat hook, a bleeding and gutted torso hangs and another body lies on a gurney.

"Good. You three came for dinner."

Sam, Dean and Natalie turn around, seeing Ashley standing before them. She quickly waved her hand, hurling Dean and Sam towards the hanging torso, while Natalie's body hit against one of the columns. The three hunters fall to the ground, lying unconscious.

….

Natalie feels herself slowly waking up and as she tried to movie, she finds that her hands are tied behind her back. She looks in front of her, seeing Sam and Dean tied up as well. Looking over, Natalie sees Veritas placing their knives into a drawer.

"Sit tight. You're up next." She said, turning to see that the three of them are now awake.

Sam pulls out his switchblade from his sleeve and looks over at Dean, sending him a look. Dean averts his attention from Sam to Veritas who opens the mouth of one of the bodies and pulls out the tongue and took a bite out of it. Both Dean and Natalie silently gagged, making a face of disgust.

"The tongue...is the tastiest part. It's where the lies just roll off." She said, taking another bite. "I can't wait to eat yours. I mean, I've seen liars before, but you three? Oh boy, it's gold standard." Veritas puts down the tongue and walks over to Dean.

"Point of professional pride." Dean commented.

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, Dean. You know what happens when you base your life on lies, right? The truth comes along and...so while you've still got your tongue, God knows you've got an earful." She slowly positions herself next to him and sits down. "I think it's your turn to spill some. How about we play a little truth or truth? What should we ask Dean first, hmm? Something personal about you." Her eyes flicked over to Sam. "Hey, Dean, I'm curious. What do you really feel about your brother?"

Natalie looked at Dean, seeing the hesitation in his eyes. "Better now. As of yesterday, I wanted to kill him in his sleep. I thought he was a monster. And after what Nad told me what he did..." Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing the confusion in his eyes. "...I really wanted to kill him."

"And now what do you think?"

"At first I wasn't to sure. I was confused. But, now, he's just acting like me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's the gig." Dean said, looking over at Natalie seeing the confusion in her eyes. "You're covered in blood until you're covered in your own blood. Half the time, you're about to die. Like right now. I told myself I wanted out...that I wanted a family."

"But you were lying."

"No. But what I'm good at is slicing throats. I ain't a father. I'm a killer. And there's no changing that. I know that now." Veritas smiles and pats Dean on the shoulder and looks over at Natalie.

"And what about you Natalie? I know it must have been hard this past year. Having to deal with the unbearable tragedy of losing Sam. And it must have been really hard finding out what these two did to you."

Natalie looked at Dean and Sam and bit down on her lip. "I was pissed. Beyond that actually. For a while, I actually hated them. I felt betrayed. It even shocked me because I never thought I could hate them like that. I couldn't believe that they would actually keep something like that from me. I know they said they did it for me and I actually started to believe it, but, deep down..."

"Deep down, what?" Veritas pressed for her to continue.

"There will always be this broken piece of trust. This feeling of bitter betrayal. It's like every time I look at them, I just get really angry...and I can't help that feeling. And I don't think it's something that will go away." Natalie finished and saw the hurt and guilt in Dean's eyes and she could feel her mind beginning to break down.

Veritas stood up and walked past Natalie, giving her a small pat on the head, only to have Natalie move away from her touch. "So, Sam walking back into both of your lives must have been a relief. Hmm?" She knelt down in front of Sam and knelt down next to him. "And how do you feel about the band getting back together, Sam?"

"Look...what we do is hard. But...we watch out for each other." Dean looks over at Natalie, gaining her attention, silently communicating a plan with her. "We have always looked out for each other. That's how it's always been. That's the truth."

Veritas glared at Sam, evidently confused. "No. No, it's not."

"You said yourself...I can't lie." Sam said.

"How are you doing that? That's not possible. You're lying to me!" She called out, standing back up. Dean and Natalie stopped and looked over at Sam and Veritas, confused by the panic in her voice.

"No, I'm not!" Sam defended.

"What are you?" She questioned and then looked over at Dean and Natalie. "What is he?" Dean and Natalie switch their gazes between Sam and Veritas.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sam added.

"Really? I doubt that. I doubt anything that comes out of your mouth right now. You're not human."

"What?" Both Dean and Natalie questioned.

Veritas looks over at them, surprised. "You didn't know that? Now, that I believe."

Sam finally cuts through his ropes and tosses the knife over to Dean before grabbing one of the blood stained knives. Dean quickly cuts through his binds and rushes over to Natalie.

"No, just go kill her." Natalie said.

Dean puts the knife into her hand and she went to work at cutting the ropes tied around her hands. Once she finally cuts through the rope, she stands up and looks over, just in time to see Sam stab Veritas with the blood stained knife and her body slumped to the floor.

Natalie lets out a sigh, but, looks over to see Dean wielding a knife towards Sam. She slowly makes her way over to him. "Dean, what are you doing?"

"It's not him." Dean said in a low tone.

"Dean, it's me." Sam said, trying to assure him,

"You're not my brother." Dean said, backing Sam up around a basin.

Sam raised his hands up to his brother. "Just listen."

"What are you?!" Dean barked out, loud enough to cause Natalie to jump.

"I'm me, Dean. Look, please, just let me explain."

"Why the hell should I believe anything you say?" Dean questioned.

"Okay, okay. You want the truth? Here it is. God's honest." Sam relented. Dean stopped in front of him with Natalie standing behind him and the knife still raised towards Sam. "She was right. There's something wrong with me, really wrong. I've known it for a while. I lied to you. Yeah. And...I let you get turned by that vamp. Because I knew there was a cure Dean, and we needed in that nest! I knew you could handle it."

"Handle it? I could've died! I could've killed Ben!" Dean yelled out. "Oh! Not to mention the fact that you ignored her message." Dean saw Sam's brows furrow. "Yeah, I know about that. You almost got Nad killed." Dean seethed.

"I know. And that should stop me cold. But I—I just don't feel it." Sam explained.

"You what?"

"Ever since I came back, I am a better hunter than I've ever been. Nothing scares me anymore. Because I can't feel it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think...I need help."

Dean holds his stance, not knowing whether to trust him or not. Eventually, he lowers the knife and turns to look at Natalie, who looked just as shocked about this as he was. After putting down the knife, he turned back towards Sam and then threw a punch across his face.

Natalie couldn't help but jump at the action and watched, silently, as Dean looms over Sam, punching him repeatedly in the face. As the punching continued, Natalie could herself being overwhelmed by the sight. Without thinking, Natalie rushed over and grabbed Dean's arm.

"Dean! Stop it!" She called out, causing Dean to pause and look at her. "Stop. We need to figure out what's wrong with him. Please, stop." She begged. Even though Sam was messed up, she couldn't bear to watch Dean beat him any longer.

Dean slowly nodded and remained silent. He knew that her watching this wasn't easy and during his fit, he had almost completely forgotten she was standing right behind him. But, he could still feel his rage bubbling inside of him. He turned back to Sam and yanked him up, then threw one last punch across his face.

* * *

><p><strong>So! What did you all think? How did you like Nad's little confessions? Don't forget to leave me a review!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Leaning against the dresser, Natalie slowly tapped her finger against her arm as Dean paced back and forth in front of her. She looked over at Sam, who was still unconscious and tied up in a chair, his face was bruised and bloodied from Dean's attack.<p>

"Come on, Cas." Dean's voice brought her attention back over to him. "Sam is in bad shape. We need you down here."

Silence followed Dean's words when the sound of wings interrupted it and Dean and Natalie looked over, seeing Castiel looking at them, his back facing Sam.

"I got your message. What's wrong with him?" Castiel asked.

Dean and Natalie remained silent and raised their arms, pointing over at Sam. Castiel turned around and walked over to him, his eyes narrowing at his condition. As he began to examine him, Sam slowly began to regain consciousness.

"You're right. He does look terrible." Castiel said and looked back at Dean. "You did this?"

Sam blinked his eyes open and looked up at Castiel, his brows furrow as his vision began to clear. "Cas? What's..." Sam tried to move only to find out that his hands were tied behind a chair. Castiel reached forward and placed his hand against the side of his face. "What...let me go."

"Has he been feverish?" Castiel asked.

"Have you?" Dean asked again as Sam remained quiet.

"What. No. Why?"

Castiel looked over at Natalie and Dean. "Is he speaking in tongues?" He focused his attention back to Sam. "Are you speaking in tongues?"

Sam shook his head. "What, no. Are...are you diagnosing me?"

"You better hope he can." Dean added.

"You really think that this is—'

Dean slowly walks over to Sam. "What you think there's a clinic out there for people who just pop out of hell wrong? He asks, you answer. Then you shut your hole. You got it?"

Natalie leaned away from the dresser and walked over to Dean, standing next to him. "How much do you sleep?" Castiel asked.

Sam looked at him and hesitated. "I don't."

Confused, Natalie let out a scoff. "Wait, you mean that you don't sleep...like at all?"

"Not since I got back."

Natalie and Dean share a look. "And it never occurred to you that there might be something off about that?" Dean yelled.

"Of course it did, Dean...I just never told you." Sam answered.

Castiel went and stood next to Sam as he looked over at Dean and Natalie, enabling both of them to see that he was considering something.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Sam...what are you feeling now?" Castiel asked, looking down at him.

Sam let out a small laugh. "Well, I feel like my nose is broken."

"No, that's a physical sensation. How do you feel?" Castiel asked again, his voice had hardened slightly.

"Well, I think..."

"_Feel."_

"I...don't know." Sam answered.

"You don't know how you feel. What does that even mean?" Natalie asked, more herself than anyone else.

Castiel looked over at Natalie and Dean and proceeds to take off his belt, before, turning to face Sam again. "What, uh..." Sam begins to speak.

"This will be unpleasant." Castiel said as he folded his belt once and held it towards Sam's mouth. "Bite down on this." Sam does so and Castiel places one hand on his shoulder. "If there's someplace that you find soothing, you should go there. In your mind."

Natalie stared at Castiel, worried at what he was doing. "Cas...what are you..." Castiel suddenly shoves his hand into Sam's chest. The action caused Sam to groan in pain and his back arched several times and his neck began to almost glow with a redness that lit up his veins. Natalie couldn't help herself as she stepped towards them only to have Dean grab her arm, keeping her back.

Castiel finally pulled his hand from Sam's chest, his breathing was heavy and his pained groans slowly diminished. Turning around, he saw Dean and Natalie giving him expectant, yet, confused looks as to what he just did.

"Did you find anything?" Dean was the first to ask.

"No." Castiel answered, setting his belt down on the bed.

Natalie shrugged. "So, is that good or what?"

"I'm afraid not. Physically, he's perfectly healthy."

"Then, what?" Dean asked.

"It's his soul. It's gone."

The words took a while to sink into their minds when Natalie finally scoffed. "Wait...did you just say that he has no soul?"

Dean ran a hand down his face and laughed. "Okay, just run through it again, but with more details this time. What do you mean he has no soul?"

Castiel turned fully towards Natalie and Dean. "Some how when Sam was resurrected, it was without his soul."

"So, then where is it?" Dean asked.

"My guess is...still in the cage with Michael and Lucifer."

Dean stared Castiel for a moment and then looked over to his brother. "So, is he even still Sam?"

His question caused both Natalie and Castiel to look at Sam as well. "Well, you pose an interesting philosophical question." Castiel said.

"Well, then just get it back."

"Dean."

"Well, you pulled me out."

"It took several angels to rescue you, and you weren't nearly as well guarded. Sam's soul is in Lucifer's cage. There's a difference, a big difference. It's not possible."

Natalie shook her head. "No. Come on, Cas. There has to be something that we can do. I mean he..." She looked over at Sam and sighed. "We can't just leave him like this."

Castiel nodded. "I understand Natalie. But, there is no way to get his soul out without some sort of complication."

"So are you guys going to untie me?" Sam voice cut through their conversation.

"No." Dean was quick to answer.

"Listen, I'm not gonna—'

Dean turned to his brother and walked towards him. "Sam, how the hell am I supposed to let you out of this room?"

"Dean, I'm not some psycho. I didn't want you to get hurt. I was just trying to stop the vamps. And Nad, I didn't want her to get hurt either, but, I knew she would have been able to handle herself."

Dean scoffed. "Oh yeah. Because that thing wasn't about to kill her by the time we got there."

Sam sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry. I am. It won't ever happen again. Please let me go."

"You're kidding, right?"

Sam shrugged and looked around him. "Well, what are you gonna do, just keep me locked up in here forever?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Okay, fine, look, I get it, Dean. I was wrong. But I'm telling you I'm trying to get right. It's still me."

Natalie stared at Sam. "Is it really?" She asked doubtfully.

Sam looked over at her. "Yes it is. So please, just let me go."

Dean gave Sam a look and shook his head. "No way in hell." He said as he turned back to Castiel and Natalie.

"I didn't want it to come to this." The three of them looked over at Sam as he stood up from his chair, pulling the ropes off of his arms. "You're not gonna hold me, Dean—not here, not in the panic room, not anywhere. You two are stuck with the soulless guy, so you might as well work with me. Let's fix this."

"We're gonna be watching every move you make." Dean said as he stood in front of him.

"Fine. Sounds about right to me."

Dean nodded silently. "Cas, clean him up." Dean turned back towards Natalie, who gently pulled him to the side.

"Dean. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Natalie asked, making sure to keep her voice low.

"What else are we supposed to do Nad? Clearly, we can't keep him in anywhere because he will find a way out. Might as well just work with it."

Natalie shook her head skeptically. "Dean. I don't like this. After everything he did..."

"I know, Nad. But, think about it. It's practically Sam...he's just missing a very important piece."

Natalie bit down on her lip and shook her head, feeling skeptical about the whole thing. Dean saw the look in her eyes and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Nad. I know. You don't trust him. I don't either. But, we need to get his soul back, whatever it takes. And I can't do it alone."

All of the doubt that she was currently feeling was slowly beginning to diminish. First off, they finally found out what was 'wrong' with Sam and although it was an answer, it still left her slightly confused. _How could he not have a soul? _The words soulless and Sam didn't sound right together, because, Natalie _knew _what Sam was really like. He was compassionate, understanding and protective. Now, he was pretty much an emotionless body suit, walking around. This type of thing was never something Natalie thought she would experience.

The hand on her shoulder gave a reassuring squeeze which brought her out of her little daze. "Nad, are you with me on this?" Dean asked.

Natalie sighed, nodding her head. "Yeah. I'm with you Dean." The look of relief on his face was enough to her that she had made the right decision and she gave him a small smile.

"Dean?" He gave her a nod to continue. "About what I said earlier...I just wanted to say—"

"Nad. It's alright. You don't have to explain it to me." Dean assured her.

"No, but, I just wanted you to know that...I do trust you. No matter what happens, that will never go away Dean."

Dean nodded. He didn't need to convey his thanks verbally because Natalie could see it in his eyes. "Alright." Dean said, turning back towards Sam. "If we're gonna figure out what happened to your soul, then we need to find out who yanked you out."

"And are you sure that you don't know who brought you back?" Natalie asked.

"No idea."

"Then we need to start a list. If it's so hard to spring someone out of the box, then who's got that kind of muscle?" Dean questioned.

"I don't know." Castiel said and looked over at Sam. "You said that you have no memory of your resurrection."

"I woke up in a field. That's all I got."

"I actually do have one." Sam said.

Natalie looked at him expectantly. "And what is that?"

"Samuel."

* * *

><p>Dean, Sam and Natalie stepped out of the Impala, which was parked outside of a worn down building. Her eyes scanned over the area and she felt a small shiver sliver down her spine. Looking over at Dean, she went and stood next to him. "Are you sure that I should be here? I mean you and Sam, sure, but...me?"<p>

Dean looked at Natalie and gave her a small pat on the back. "It's fine, Nad."

Sam led the way to the front door and opened it, allowing Dean and Natalie to follow. After a short walk through a few rooms, they came upon what looked like the place where everyone always met up. She was proven right as a group of hunters were getting ready for something.

A man walked up to them. "Hey Sam." His eyes shifted over to Dean and his expression fell slightly. "Ahh. Dean."

Dean gave him a forced smirk. "Hello, Newman."

Newman scoffed and looked over at Natalie, tilting his head to the side. "And I'm guessing you are... Natalie, right?" Natalie's furrowed at him. "Sam here has talked about you a lot during the year...both of you."

"Yeah, I've heard that already coming from Samuel." Natalie replied.

"Speaking of him, where's the man?" Dean asked.

Samuel appeared in a doorway that led to a separate room and he cleared his throat. "You three. Come right on in."

Dean, Natalie and Sam walk past Samuel into the room and turn to him as he closed the door. "Need to ask you a few questions." Dean said.

Samuel walked back over to his desk and sat down in his chair. "What's wrong?"

"The day you got back, what happened?" Dean questioned.

"We've been over this." Samuel blatantly replied.

"Well, recap it for our wingman." Dean motioned over to Castiel, who was standing behind Samuel.

Samuel eyed him and hummed. "This Castiel? You're scrawnier than I pictured."

"This is a vessel." Castiel spoke, looking down at himself. "My true form is approximately the size of your Chrysler Building."

"Alright, alright, quit bragging." Dean interrupted. "So, you were dead, and..."

"And, _pow_, I was on Elton ridge. Don't know how. Don't know why. I got nothing to hide, guys."

"Well, you mind if Cas here double-checks?" Dean asked, though Castiel had already lifted his jacket sleeve.

Samuel recoiled slightly. "What the hell is he going to do?"

Dean shrugged. "Just a little check up."

Samuel stared at Dean, then relaxed in his chair as Castiel shoved his hand into his chest. He made only a small attempt to hold back his screams before they finally slipped out. Natalie cringed faintly, even though she didn't expect it to phase her at all since she had gone through it with Sam not to long ago.

Castiel finally withdrew his hand just as someone bursts through the door, startling everyone except for Samuel and Castiel. "Whoah! It's okay." Sam said.

"What the hell?" The man stared at the group confusingly.

"Angel cavity search." Dean stated.

"I'm fine, Christian." Samuel said, still regaining his breath. "Just give us a minute."

"But—"

"Just give us a minute." Samuel said once again. Christian gave the room one last glance before, reluctantly, closing the door.

"What the hell was that?" Samuel breathed out.

"His soul is intact." Castiel rolled down his sleeve.

"What? Of course I have a—" Samuel paused and looked over at Sam. "What's going on, Sam?"

"Whatever dragged me out...left a piece behind." Sam said. "Did you know?"

"No, but, I...I knew it was something. You're a hell of a hunter, Sam, but...the truth is, sometimes you scare me."

Natalie's eyes narrowed slightly. "If you noticed something was off, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Samuel said, but, by the look on Natalie's face he knew that she didn't buy it. "So, what's the deal here? How do we fix this? How do we get his soul back?"

"We don't know yet. But, we have to get it back." Dean answered.

"Well, I'm here to help, of course. What leads you guys working on?" Samuel asked.

"Nothing but a bunch of dead ends." Sam replied.

Samuel sighed. "Well, then, we'll just have to dig."

"I have to get back." Castiel said, interrupting them.

"You're leaving?" Dean asked, his brows creasing.

"I'm in the middle of a civil war."

Dean nodded. "Well, then, you better tear the attic up, find something to help Sam."

"Of course. Your problems always come first. I'll be in touch." Castiel said before, finally, disappearing.

"Would've asked him to stick around for a beer." Samuel commented.

"So, what's with the book club outside?" Dean motioned back at the door.

"Putting together a hunt."

Dean stared at him for a moment. "That's a lot of guys for one hunt."

"You found him, didn't you?" Sam suddenly asked.

"Who?"

"He's got a lead on the alpha vamp."

"Do you?" Dean looked at Samuel.

"Maybe. Yeah."

"How did you track him down?" Dean asked.

"We're good."

Dean scoffed. "That's all I get? We're good?"

"When is the run taking place?" Sam was quick to ask.

"Dawn."

"Why didn't you call me?"

Samuel hesitated and Dean narrowed his eyes at him. "It's because of me. You don't trust me very much, do you? Especially when it comes to big game like this."

"That's not true."

Dean shrugged. "Okay then. We're in...the three of us."

"No offense, but—"

"So you don't trust me."

"No." Samuel said. "I just don't know you...you and Natalie. Not like I know Sam."

"Alright. You call the plays then. 100%. Nad and I...we're here to listen." Dean said and looked back at Natalie, who nodded without much enthusiasm.

Samuel let out a small laugh. "Since when?"

"Big daddy bloodsucker? I ain't gonna miss that. But, this is your deal. Okay? I get it. I'll follow your lead, we both will. I trust you."

Samuel nodded and thought about it for a moment. "Okay, fine. Both of you be ready."

...

"I don't trust him." Dean said as they walked out of the building. Once they reached the car, he turned to Sam and Natalie. "Dude's hiding something."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I can feel it. And if you weren't Robo-Sam, you'd feel it, too. What about you, Nad?"

Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. "He seemed a little hesitant on a few things. I say that he probably knows something we don't."

"Huh."

Dean looked over at Sam. "What?"

"Just...you. Saying you don't trust family."

"Look, we hang close, we blend in, we see what we can pick up."

"You think Samuel's connected to this whole soul thing?"

Natalie bit down on her lip. "But, why would he hide something that has to deal with your soul? I mean, what is it to him?"

Dean shook his head. "Not sure. But, he's the only lead we got. So let's just see what we can get from him."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all liked it! Don't forget to drop me a review!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Don't forget to check out the edit my friend made, link on my profile._

_frodofreakingbaggins__: At the beginning of this chapter, in a way you kind of get to see what he has said about her, but, it won't go into to much detail. I feel like since he is soulless there wouldn't be much to what he has said about her._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural._

* * *

><p>The voicemail came through for the third time and Natalie sighed, as the beep went off. "Hey, Aunt Clara. Um, I'm guessing you're back on the road looking for the demon. I just wanted to call in, see how you were doing. Uh...I'm fine." Natalie paused and then let out a pained laugh. "Actually, I'm not. Quite a bit has happened and...I don't know, I just need to talk about it. I don't want to bother Mari with any of this. So...I guess just call me back whenever you can. Okay, talk to you soon."<p>

Natalie ended the call and placed the phone back in her pocket and looked up at the sky, then took in a breath. Dean was inside doing only god knows what, most likely getting into some kind of trouble, while Sam was, actually she really didn't know what he was doing or where he was. He just kind of sauntered off, but, it didn't really bother her much. She felt a lot more at ease when he wasn't around her, which was the only thing that upset her.

Turning around, Natalie walked back over to the Impala and when she looked up, she spotted a woman standing near the building entrance, looking at her. At first, Natalie felt her brows furrow at the sight, but, then she soon relaxed and continued her walk over to the car and leaned against the driver side door.

Looking back over, Natalie saw the woman making her way over and she began to think why she was coming over here. Natalie had never actually spoken to her, but, she had seen her earlier when they arrived to talk with Samuel.

The woman finally came to a stop, standing next to Natalie, she eyed for a moment then stuck her hand out towards her. "I never got the chance to actually speak with you. I'm Gwen."

Natalie stared at Gwen then looked down at her hand, before taking it into her own. "Nice to meet you, Gwen. I'm-"

"Natalie." Gwen answered for her, which made Natalie's eyes widened slightly. "I know who you are."

Natalie huffed out a laugh and dropped her hold on Gwen's hand, sliding her own hand back into her pocket. "Let me guess. Sam?" She asked, looking back at her.

Gwen shrugged and nodded. "Yep."

"That's no surprise. It's literally the same thing that everyone else here seems to say." Natalie responded.

Gwen pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "It is the truth though. Usually when he would reference something it would either involve you or Dean, and sometimes both."

Natalie nodded and bit down on her lip, suddenly becoming curious about this. "Well, that's nice to know." She said, her tone dripping with a faint sarcasm. "Considering..." Natalie stopped and shook her head.

Gwen raised her brows at this. "I'm guessing there's some tension going on with you and Sam."

"It's not just Sam and I...it's." Natalie scoffed. "I'm sorry, I don't really feel like just...pouring out all of this. I mean I don't even know you. No offence."

Gwen shrugged it off. "None taken. Just thought I would try and spark up a conversation."

Natalie sighed and hung her head for a brief moment. "I'm curious." She said, looking over at Gwen. "What did he say about me?"

"Not much actually. With you, he seemed to be intent on making sure what he said about you wasn't too much. But, when I asked him who you were, he just said that you were a close friend."

Natalie felt her expression turn somber at this and she pursed her lips. "That's all he said about me. That I was a close friend...nothing else." Gwen nodded in response.

Natalie painfully sighed and slowly shook her head, but, it didn't surprise her as much as it hurt. She knew now that Sam was soulless, so of course he wouldn't go into detail about them. But, that didn't cushion the hurt that she felt.

"That's great. That's just...great." Natalie managed to finally answer, causing Gwen to stare at her questioningly.

"Are you okay?" Gwen finally asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Natalie replied.

Gwen stared at Natalie skeptically, knowing that there was something Natalie was thinking about that she wasn't telling her. Though, she wasn't going to go prodding around for the answer. After all, like Natalie said, they didn't know each other. Natalie wasn't comfortable with telling her anything and fortunately, Gwen wasn't intent on asking her anything else.

The silence that was between them was becoming deafening to Natalie and she decided to turn the subject around. "So, um, are you like a friend or relative?"

"Distant cousin, I guess you could say. From their mom's side." Gwen answered.

Natalie hummed in response and nodded her head. "And what about you? Gwen asked. "I mean I hope I'm not intruding onto something you don't want to talk about, but, you are a hunter, right?"

Natalie huffed. "Yeah, I am. It wasn't what I wanted to become, but...some things happened a little while back and...here I am."

"Were your family hunters as well?"

"My dad was." Natalie said, after taking a moment to decide whether she would discuss this or not. "But, he didn't want my siblings and I to be a part of any of this. I made this decision on my own."

Gwen hummed. "Well, if I had the choice I wouldn't have gone down this road. Whatever got you in this job, I'm not gonna ask what it is, it must've been pretty bad." She assured Natalie. "Did you give it a good thought?"

Natalie let out a small laugh. "No." She looked over at Gwen seeing the look on her face. "I really didn't. Now that I think about it, I decided on a spur of the moment."

"Oh."

"But, there's nothing I can do now. I'm in. And I'm never getting out. And I have already accepted that fact." Gwen nodded silently at Natalie's words, understanding how she felt about all of this.

The door leading into the building opened and a guy leaned out. "Gwen. We need you back in here."

Gwen looked over at the man and nodded in response, causing the man to retreat back in the building. Turning back to Natalie, she offered her a small smile. "Well, it was nice talking with you Natalie."

Natalie tilted her head and nodded. "It was nice talking with you too, Gwen."

Gwen walked away and made her way towards the door, but stopped, and turned back to Natalie. "You going on the hunt with us."

"Wouldn't miss it." Natalie replied. Gwen gave her a nod, before, turning back around and walked back in the building.

* * *

><p>Natalie stepped out of the Impala as the rest of the party grouped up to hear the plan. Though, she stayed a little back and took out her phone and quickly went through the messages, before, putting her phone away and stood next to Dean, while adjusting the hold on her machete.<p>

"The house is just over the hill. About a dozen vamps and the alpha. We got one shot at this son of a bitch." Samuel said and then turned to one of the men. "Christian, take the flank. The rest of you are with me and Sam. Dean, Gwen and Natalie... you three hang back, sweep any stragglers we flush out." Samuel saw the look on Dean's face. "Is that a problem, Dean?"

Dean gave Samuel a shake of the head and shrugged. "No, sir."

Samuel nodded and looked over at Natalie. "We clear, Natalie?"

Natalie gave Samuel an optimistic smile. "Got it."

"So you're saying I have to stay back again?" Gwen questioned Samuel.

Samuel gave her a look, ending the conversation and then turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, let's go."

Sam began to walk, but then, stopped in front of Natalie and Dean. "Don't worry about it. It's fine."

"No, nothing's fine." Dean quietly answered. "Hell, you're not fine." He took a look around them and motioned for Sam to leave. "Go."

Gwen let out an annoyed sigh and leaned against one of the trucks. "God, I hate being left behind. Think it's because I remind him of his daughter or something."

"Well, you just speak your mind." Dean commented.

"I'll take that as a compliment then." Gwen said.

"You should."

The sound of leaves rustling and branches breaking caught their attentions. Natalie looked carefully in the direction in which the sound seemed to be coming from. She barely had time to react as something suddenly tackled Dean to the ground.

It didn't take long for her to realize that it was a stray vampire, no doubt one that had escaped from the attack the others were engaging in right now. Natalie tighted her hold on the machete and ran over, swinging the weapon across and chopped off the head in a clean swipe.

Looking down at Dean, she could see that surprise on his face and she tilted her head for a moment. "Glad I acted fast." She commented and reached her hand out to him, which he took, and pulled him up on his feet.

Gunshots resonated through the hair causing Natalie and Dean to snap their attention in that direction. They both shared a look and then began to run towards that direction. "We're supposed to wait here!" Gwen called out to them, but, it didn't stop them. "Dean! Natalie!"

Natalie and Dean ran up the hill and through a small tree infested patch of the area, until they came to an opening that led to the house where the attack was being carried out. They both knelt down behind a few bushes that were at the edge of the opening and watched as Samuel and Sam guided a chained vampire into the back of one of the vehicles.

Watching the scene in silence, they both seemed to have come up with the same thought. "What the hell are they doing?" Natalie whispered. Dean kept his gaze on the sight, but, shook his head in response to her question. Samuel closed the back door of a vehicle and signaled for them to head out.

Dean took hold of Natalie's arm, motioning for her to follow him. The two quickly made their back to where the other cars were, before Samuel and the others got there. Once they made it over the hill and walked down the incline, Gwen was looking at them questioningly.

"Where were you two?" She asked once Dean and Natalie reached her.

Samuel and the others finally appeared and he walked over to them, spotting the headless body on the ground. "Everything alright here?"

"Just, uh, chopped up a runner. No big deal. How'd it go?" Gwen asked, switching the subject.

"Rough, but one alpha down."

Natalie and Dean sneak a look at each other. "Where is it?" Dean asked, causing Samuel to look over at him. "Want to pay my last respects."

"Well, bring marshmallows. Already on the pyre."

Dean nodded his head, trying to hide the fact that he knew it was a lie. "Well, at least this alpha is down."

"Yeah." Samuel turned to the rest of the group. "Let's head out then."

….

As the Impala sped down the road, Dean had been debating the whole time whether to bring up the matter with Sam. Clearly, what he and Natalie saw, was something they both had no knowledge of and he wanted to know. Looking up in the rear view mirror, he caught Natalie's attention and he could see that she wanted answers as well.

"So." Dean began, causing Sam to look at him. "Things go okay back there?"

Sam remained silent and then shrugged. "Fine."

"Nothing weird?" Dean tried again only to have Sam shake his head. Something inside Dean ticked and he sped up the car and came to a screeching halt at the side of the road. Turning off the engine, he turned to look fully at Sam. "Nad and I saw you walk that alpha out the door, Sam. Now, call me crazy...but that seems weird."

Sam made a face and sighed. "Oh."

Natalie narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh? That's all you are going to say is, oh?"

"You guys weren't supposed to know about that." Sam confessed.

"Know what?" Dean questioned.

"It's just something Samuel's been doing. Catching things, taking them somewhere, grilling them for info."

"Grill. You mean torture, right? And not telling us—that was his idea?" Dean asked.

"No, it was mine." Sam said.

Natalie scoffed and leaned back against her seat. "Now, that's not a shocker."

"Why?" Dean began to question again.

"Honestly? Because you both would have messed it up. You shoot first, ask questions later, and we needed to ask questions."

Dean blinked several times, not able to comprehend Sam's thinking. "You know, I don't care if you've got soullessness or the freaking mumps, man. You know better than this! Do you even want your soul back?"

Sam looked at Dean confusingly. "How does that have to do with any of this?"

"Have you been to the place where Samuel takes them?" Dean interrupted. "I mean, have you been in on these interrogations?"

"No, but I hear—'

"And why? And did it ever occur to you that this is really shady?"

"He's our grandfather." Sam said, trying to reason with him.

"Oh yeah. A guy who talks a great game. But you can't assume that family means the same thing to him as it does to us. He's not Dad." Dean stopped and stared at Sam, seeing no change in his expression. "Wow. You don't see it, do you?"

"What?"

"You've got no instinct." Dean said, scoffing. "I mean, you are seriously messed up."

Sam let out a scoff. "Yeah, thanks."

"I'm not kidding, man. Nobody's forcing you to work with us, okay? But if we do this...I drive the bus, I call the shots, and you tell everything. Either say to me or Nad, whether you think it's important or not, because trust me, you can't tell the difference. Or, you know what? Go-go with Samuel. See how that goes. It's up to you."

...

Natalie and Dean sat in the Impala with nothing but silence between them. They had driven Sam back to the Campbell home giving Sam a choice as to what he wanted to do. They had devised a plan to try and get Samuel to allow Sam on the interrogations so he could find out the location. But, as to whether Sam would one hundred percent follow through was the thing Natalie and Dean had to think about.

Dean let out a tired sigh and looked up in the rear view mirror, seeing Natalie, who seemed to be dazing off almost. "You alright, Nad?"

Natalie casually looked up at Dean and shrugged. That was the only response she could give him. He should know by now how she felt with everything. "You think he is gonna go through with it? The plan?" Natalie finally asked.

"I sure hope so, Nad." Dean replied and the two once again descended into silence.

The passenger side door suddenly opened and Sam quickly slid in. Natalie and Dean stared at him, both of them not really thinking he would come back. "Hey." Dean finally said.

"You didn't think I'd come back." Sam said.

Dean shrugged. "I figured 60/40."

"So, Samuel didn't take the bait. So I went with plan b."

Natalie leaned up against the back of the front seat, looking at Sam, confused. "We made up a plan b? I don't recall that."

Sam looked at Natalie with a satisfied smirk on his face. And for a small moment it was almost as if she saw the 'real' Sam. The one who was always so considerate and empathetic about everything. It seemed like even though he was soulless, there was still a very small part of him that was still 'Sam', but it was just buried, deep, deep down.

Pulling out his cellphone, he held it up to them. "Fired up the GPS on one of his cellphones. We should be able to track him to the alpha."

Natalie gave Sam an amused look. "The old man won't notice?" Dean asked.

Sam scoffed. "Trust me. He thinks velcro is big news." Natalie let out a snort when the beeping soon went off. "There. Got him."

Dean turned in his seat and started up the engine. "Let's go see ourselves an alpha."

* * *

><p>The three of them arrive at what looks like an abandoned warehouse of sorts, though that didn't surprise them. This was usually the best places to hold creatures. Walking up to the main door, Natalie stared at a stain on the door. She wiped her finger against it and inspected it before presenting it to Sam and Dean.<p>

"Dean man's blood?" Sam asked.

"Hey, it's smart. Lock the place down with vamp repellent." Dean commented as he took out his lock picks.

Once he got the door unlocked, the three of them quietly walked in and through the first room. Then, through another door, they found a room that turned right, down a long corridor. They followed the hallway until it turned right once again through an open archway that led to another shorter hallway.

The three of them walked down only a small portion of it, when someone from down the hall appeared. Dean quickly rushed into a room as Sam took hold of Natalie's arm, pulling her into the room with him.

Dean quickly took refuge behind a worn down metal desk, while Sam and Natalie hid behind filing cabinets on either sides of the room. Natalie quietly got down on her knees and took a quick glance past the cabinet and towards the door, seeing a man stopping at the doorway, which caused her to immediately retract fully.

The faint shuffling of footsteps entered the room and Natalie could feel her breathing slow down. It remained quiet for only a few more seconds, before the footsteps left the room and disappeared down the hallway.

Natalie slowly got back up on her feet and peered over the cabinet, seeing that the man was indeed gone. Dean and Sam both stood up as well and with a quick glance between them, they quickly made their way out of the room and continued on down the hall.

As they reached the end, faint voices carried out into the hallway and they found themselves at an open doorway. Sam quickly stepped to the other side, while Natalie and Dean stayed together. They all took a quick glance in the room, seeing Samuel with the Alpha, who was nailed down in an iron cage.

"_Where is it? Answer the question. Where is it? How do we find it?" _Samuel's voice came through clearer now. When the Alpha remains silent, Samuel turns on some sort of battery which in turn begins to electrocute the Alpha.

"_Ouch. Stop. That hurts."_

Samuel reluctantly turned off the machine. _"This is club med compared to what we have planned for you. I got all the time in the world."_

"_Well, that makes two of us."_

The three of them hide back from the opening, when they hear a door open and then close. Dean looks at Sam and Natalie, signaling for them to leave.

"_Are you going to hide all night?" _The voice stopped them dead in their tracks and Natalie couldn't help but close her eyes. _"Come on out."_

Dean and Sam exchanged looks before slowly opening the doors the rest of the way. They then made their way into the room. "How can I help you?" The Alpha asked.

"We got some questions for you, skippy, since you're not going nowhere fast." Dean said, walking closer to the cage.

"Don't be to sure." The Alpha comments before letting out a laugh.

"Yeah? Locked down pretty tight. And with all that dead blood rushing through your veins." Dean motioned over to the machine next to the cage. "Not sure you got enough juice to fire up that psychic bat-signal of yours, do you?"

"Oh. True. Not near enough juice for that...Dean."

Dean looked at him as his brows raised. "I didn't realize we were on first name basis here."

The Alpha gave Dean a look. "Of course we are. After all, you were my child...for a time. Dean, tell me...did you enjoy it?"

Dean walked over to the battery and switched it on. "I'm asking the questions here, fright night."

"When your kind first huddled around the fire, I was the thing in the dark. Now you think you can hurt me?"

Dean nodded slightly before shutting off the machine.

"I have all night you three. Anyway, I'm happy to tell you whatever you want to know."

"Why?"

"Why? Because soon, I'll be ankle-deep in your blood, sucking the marrow from your bones."

"So you're really it then." Sam began as he walked closer to the cage. "The first of your species."

"The very first."

"But if you're the first...who made you?" Sam asked.

"We all have our mothers. Even me." The Alpha blatantly states.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked. "And what's with the big surge of vamps lately? I mean, it's like—'

"Like we're going to war."

"Why? What's going on?" Sam interrupted. "Why did Samuel bring you here?"

The Alpha looked over at Sam and sniffed. "You smell cold." Dean and Natalie looked over at Sam. "You have no soul. What an oddity. Do you feel how empty you are? What is it like to have no soul?"

"Answer my question." Sam interjected.

"You first."

"You're the one in the cage." Sam replied.

"The thing about souls, if you've got one, of course—is they're predictable. You die, you go up or down. Where do my kind go?"

"Alright, enough with the sermon, freak." Dean said annoyingly.

"I'm trying to answer the question. Now, when we 'freaks' die...where do we go? Not heaven, not hell. So?"

"Legoland?" Dean replied.

The Alpha casted Dean an annoyed glance. "Little rusty on our Dante?"

Natalie looked over at the Alpha, her head perking up at the answer. "It's Purgatory." The three of them looked over at her. "When creatures die, they go to Purgatory."

The Alpha let out a laugh of content. "See? The pretty little miss has got it."

Dean nodded his head. "Okay, settle down." He lightly scolded. "Purgatory is real?"

"Oh, stupid cattle. Of course! And it is filled with soul of every hungry thing like me that ever walked this earth. Now, where is it? That is the mystery. And that is what your kindhearted granddaddy is trying to be out of me."

"Samuel brought you here...to find out where Purgatory is?" Sam asked.

"I keep telling him, how would I know such a thing? But he refuses to untie me."

Sam narrowed his eyes and inched closer to the cage. "You know exactly where it is. Why does Samuel care about any of this?"

"He doesn't care. He does as he is told."

Natalie looked over at Dean, seeing his face wash over with realization. "Well, if the old mans Kermit...whose hand's up his ass?"

The sound of a gun cocking causing the three of them to turn around to find Samuel and two other men. "Evening you three." He motioned for them to leave the room. When they remained still, the two men quickly ushered them out.

They guided them out of the room and halfway down the hall before stopping them. They proceeded to unarm them, throwing their weapons down onto the ground.

"Wow, you know, I have seen some stupid in my time, but you take the crown." Dean commented. "Putting Jaws in a fishbowl? How do you think that's gonna end? I don't know what kind of game you're playing..."

"What, do you think I'm doing this for kicks?" Samuel questioned.

"I think you've got the rest of these feebs convinced that you're John Wayne. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're hiding...it's gonna put you and everyone around you in the ground."

Samuel charges after Dean, who quickly throws his gun out of his hands. Natalie went to pick up her gun from the ground when a hand pulls her back and slams her up against the wall. She braces her hands against the mans chest to push him back when the sound of a gun cocking causes everyone to stop.

"Hi."

Natalie heard a voice and she recognized it as being Gwen. She looked at the man, who was still holding her back, and roughly pushed him, effectively getting him away from her.

"Gwen." Dean lets down his gun. "And I thought we had something special."

"Sorry to disappoint." Gwen said as she made her way over to them.

Screams coming from down the hall caught their attention. Samuel looked over at them, "Grab your stuff." Then took off towards the room with Gwen.

Sam, Dean and Natalie quickly scramble to get their weapons before heading back towards the room. Once there, they find that the Alpha is gone and one of men are dead. Samuel and Dean take a quick sweep of the cage, trying to figure out how he got out.

"How long till the Alpha's 100%?" Dean asked.

"Hour. Maybe less. We need to get him dosed up and back in the cage."

Natalie scoffed. "Are you kidding me? After what just happened, your brilliant idea is to put him back in there?"

"Nad's right." Dean said. "Listen, I don't know what your big plan was, but playing catch is not on the table."

"Dean—'

"We take the thing's head off, or it kills us all. You know that." Dean could see Samuel reluctantly agreeing. "Okay. We split up. Clear every room. You get a shot, you take it. It's not gonna kill him, but, it will slow him down at least. And if we make through this." Dean looked back over at Samuel. "We are having one hell of a family meeting."

Dean looked around at the group, seeing each of them nodding their understanding. Looking over at Natalie, he motions for her to follow him, before heading out of the room.

….

Dean and Natalie finish sweeping another room and found themselves making a full circle that was taking them back to the room where the Alpha was. "So, what do you think of this?" Natalie finally asked. "Samuel torturing this Alpha to get to Purgatory."

Dean shook his head as they continued walking. "I am not sure. I just wanna know who's telling him to do all of this. What's the motive?"

"Guess you are going to find out pretty soon." Natalie said.

As they came closer to the room, they could hear a struggle coming from their and they both immediately broke out into a run. Coming to the door, they saw the Alpha was being handled by a group of demons and soon they were gone.

"What the hell?" Natalie asked when clapping began to echo through the room.

Dean, Natalie and Sam walk closer to the source of the sound only to find... "Crowley?" Sam questioned.

"Well, that was dramatic." Crowley commented as he began to descend down a flight of stairs. "Hello, boys and gal. See you've got her back under your wing." He said pointing over to Natalie. "What an unexpected treat."

"Bring Christian back now." Samuel commanded.

"I'm sorry?"

"My nephew! The one you just crammed a demon into!"

Crowley made a face. "Oh. No. I had him possessed ages ago. Samuel, really. I keep an eye on my investments."

"Whoa, wait a minute. You two know each other?" Dean asked.

"Not in the biblical sense. More of a business relationship, I'd say."

Natalie's mouth fell agape, her eyes switching between Samuel and Crowley, when they closed in vain once she put it all together. "Oh my god..."

"You're Crowley's bitch." Sam added.

"It's not what you think."

"It's precisely what you think. That alpha he's caught me is getting him a gold star."

"Since when do you give a crap about vampires?" Dean asked.

"Since, uh...what's today-Friday? Since, let's see...mind your business."

"You may as well share with the class, Crowley." Sam began. "We know you're looking for Purgatory."

"So you heard about that?"

"Yeah. You want to tell us why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Crowley raised his shoulders. "Location, location, location. I'm a developer. Purgatory is vast, underutilized, and hell-adjacent, and I want it."

"What for?" Dean asked.

"Best shut your gob. Employees don't question management."

"We are not your employees." Dean bit back.

"Of course you are! Have been for some time now, thanks to gramps. I don't keep Captain Chromedome around for his wit, do I? Samuel knows things. He's a walking encyclopedia of the creepy and the crawly. And I knew...you two are so hung up on family loyalty nonsense, he said jump, you'd get froggy."

Dean shook his head, "Yeah, well, game's over."

Crowley pursed his lips. "Yeah, well, afraid not, not if you want to see Sam's soul ever again."

Sam narrowed his eyes at Crowley. "You're bluffing."

"Tell them, Samuel."

Dean, Natalie and Sam all turn to him, seeing the hesitation in his face. "He pulled us both back, me and Sam."

"What? You knew?" Sam questioned.

"And you didn't even think it would be the right thing to say something?" Natalie asked.

"No wait a minute." Dean interrupted them. "Cas says it takes big time mojo to pull something like that off, and you're nothing but a punk ass crossroads demon."

"Was a punk ass crossroads demon. Now? King of Hell." Crowley corrected. "Believe me, I've got the mojo. I snap my fingers, Sam get's his soul back. Or you can be...you, and I shove Sam right back in the hole. Can't imagine what it's like in there...and I can imagine so many things."

Natalie shook her head and scoffed. "God. You are such an unbelievable asshole."

Crowley pressed his hand against his chest. "Oh. See this is what I missed about you Natalie. Calling me all sorts of names. It's quite flattering really. But, remember, don't strain yourself too much." Natalie rolled her eyes and bit down on her lip.

"So, we clear? Me, Charlie...you angels. Job's simple enough—bring me creatures. Aim high on the food chain, please. Everybody wins. It's been a pleasure. See you soon."

Once Crowley left there was nothing but silence between the occupants. Samuel sighed and picked up his bag, setting it on the table. "It's time to leave. Go get the van Gwen."

"You're letting a demon call the shots?" She asked angrily.

"Nothing's changed. We hunt. Period. Don't worry about him. I'll take care of it." Samuel began to put things into his bag and looked up, seeing Gwen was still staring at him. "Do you trust me or not? Get the van, Gwen."

As Gwen left, Dean walked over to Natalie. "Hey, Nad. Why don't you go and wait in the car?"

Natalie looked at Dean and easily agreed with him. "Yeah, okay. It's obvious that you three need to talk. And Samuel." He looked up at her. "You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do with both of them."

Natalie gave Dean and Sam one last glance before walking out of the room. As she walked down the hall, she could see Gwen not to far ahead of her and she picked up her pace slightly to reach her. "So." She began once she was walking next to her. "Are you going to follow him so easily, now?" Natalie questioned and then continued on without giving another look.

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: So I decided to do something different in place of episode eight. I figured, maybe I could give you guys a little bit of an insight as to what Natalie and Clara have been doing this past year-hunting down their demon. Now, this chapter is going to involve a small group of characters, including Jake and David, who you all met in the last story. Also, I wanted to explore more of Natalie's darker side, which had been building up for the entire year. It's been mentioned only briefly in the earlier chapters and I wanted to really show it now. I also wanted Sam and Dean to get a chance to see this as well. So, I hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>"And where exactly are we?" Dean asked as he stepped out of the car and looked up at the abandoned house in front of him.<p>

Natalie stepped out and stood next to him, her eyes scanning over the house as well. "Well...it's an abandoned house." She answered sarcastically.

Dean stared at her, giving a look of annoyance at her sarcasm. "I know that. But, why here?"

"Because Aunt Clara called me to come out here. Well actually, scratch that. She said that I didn't have to come out here...but, I wanted to." Natalie walked past him, towards the house, when she stopped and turned around, walking backwards towards the house. "And to answer your earlier question...this house belongs to Jake and his family."

Dean and Sam's brows raised at the name, causing Natalie to smirk. "Jake? You mean as in, Jake, right?" Dean asked.

Natalie gave a small tilt of her head, her smile growing. "Yeah. You remember Jake, right?" She asked, before turning around back towards the house.

Dean shrugged. "How could I forget?" Dean and Sam followed Natalie up to the porch and stood in front of the door. "So, why does Jake and his family own this...worn down place?" Dean asked.

"Well, it used to be their old family home...but, after David's parents died, he kind of walked away from this place...but, he kept it. Incase he needed to use it for anything." She explained as they finally reached the front door.

"So, why are you and Clara staying in this place? What do you guys use it for?" Sam was the next one to question.

Natalie reached for the doorknob and turned it, only to find that it was locked. She then raised a fist and pounded on the door a couple of times, before looking over at the boys. "We've been using it as sort of like a...meet up, per say. Ever since Aunt Clara and I have started hunting our demon, David and Jake, have been helping us. Thus, they offered this place to do our work."

The door opened to reveal Jake standing on the other side and it wasn't hard to tell by the look on his face that he was surprised to see Sam and Dean there with her. Natalie gave him a quick smile. "Hey. So, Aunt Clara called me. I'm guessing you guys got something?"

Jake gave her a huff. "We got more than just something. Here come on in. We'll explain everything."

Natalie nodded and walked past Jake into the house. Sam and Dean hesitated for a moment before Jake gave them a nod to come in. "It's good to see you both." Jake said.

Dean walked in and gave Jake a pat on the shoulder. "Nice to see you too Jake."

Sam and Dean walked down the hall, following Natalie into this huge study where David, Clara and Bobby were standing around a table. Natalie could feel herself stopping in her tracks, her eyes glued on him. She had not seen or spoken to him since that day she confronted them. And now, here he was. Bobby could feel the tension as well when he noticed her standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Nad." He finally said.

His voice seemed to have snapped her out of her trance and she gave him a small smile. "Hi, Bobby."

Bobby looked at Sam and Dean as they stood behind her. "I see you brought the boys with you."

"Yeah, thought maybe they could listen in on what's going on." Natalie answered as she walked over to the table.

Dean and Sam walked into the room, their eyes scanning around the area. Dean looked over at David and gave him a nod. "Hey, David."

"It's good to see you Dean. Sam." David answered as Sam gave his own nod of acknowledgement

"Bobby, when did you start coming here?" Natalie asked.

"You're aunt invested in my help a couple of weeks ago. Ever since then, I've been sucked into all of this." Bobby finished and looked over at Clara who was giving him a light look which caused him to roll his eyes. "But, I'm more than happy to help. Besides, it's about time that this gets finished once and for all."

Natalie saw the small interaction between her Aunt and Bobby and she smirked. Her attention was attracted only for a second over to Jake as he made his way into the room and stood next to his father. "So, what's going on here?" Natalie asked, hoping to get this conversation going.

"We managed to track down a demon who could give us some information on where to find our own." Natalie's brows raised. "Each of us have had some cracks at him. But, nothing to big."

"Who's the demon that you guys got this time?" Natalie asked.

"Well, he won't tell us his real name. But, he's been taking over people who have either died or were comatose. He travels from vessel to vessel. Fortunately, we were able to track him down in his current form." Clara explained.

Natalie nodded in approval. "Who's he possessing now?"

"A guy by the name of Mark Edwards. Was in a car accident a few months ago and was taken off life support when he slipped into a coma."

"Then he took over the body and practically walked away. Okay, so basically the real Mark is dead." Natalie said only to have Clara nod in confirmation. "Okay, what has he told you?"

"So, far we have managed to get a name. Finally. We know what our demon is known as." Clara responded. "Elais."

Natalie nodded, allowing the name to sink in. "What do we know about Elais? I mean, do we know where it is?"

Clara shook her head as she looked down at the various papers on the table. "Only thing we can gather is that he travels from several vessels. So...he could be possessing anyone now."

Natalie let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Okay. The demon, Mark, you guys captured him...he's still here?"

"We got him locked down in the basement." Jake replied.

Natalie pursed her lips to the side and bit on her bottom lip. "We need to know where Elais is. You all have had your way with him...let me take a shot at it."

At this, Clara leaned away from the table, casting Natalie a hesitant and hard stare. This was something that Clara didn't want Natalie to do, which is why she regrets ever telling Natalie about any of this.

"Nad. I don't think that's a good idea." Clara began. "I mean we tried cracking him and...he's not giving in."

Natalie stared at Clara and let out a laugh. "That's because he hasn't gone through me yet."

The tone of Natalie's words caught Sam, Dean and Bobby by surprise. They knew that Natalie had been hunting this thing down for the past year, but, what they were talking about was interrogation, which in most cases would turn into torture. Natalie wasn't the kind of person who would jump at the chance to torture something, regardless if it was a demon. That wasn't who she was.

Dean looked at the group when no one was saying anything. No one was objecting at the notion of Natalie doing this, which all the more confused him. "Whoah, wait a minute." Dean began. "You're talking about...torture, right?"

Natalie nodded her head and looked over at Dean. "If he doesn't want to talk. Then, yes, that's what I'll resort to."

"Wait. Is that what all of you have been doing with this demon? Torturing the damn thing?" Dean questioned to the rest of the group.

Clara shook her head. "We never tortured him and we never did that to any other demon we caught. That was usually up to..." Clara paused and sucked in a breath as she looked over at Natalie.

Dean's eyes stared back at Natalie, not seeing any sign of hesitation on her face which made him feel almost a small sense of dread wash over him. "Nad. You're torturing now?"

Natalie looked up and saw Bobby's face. "Yeah." She slowly looked over at Dean.

The tense silence that followed was thick, causing everyone to grow uncomfortable. Clara looked over at David and Jake. "Let's give these four some time. Natalie's got some things to explain to them." Clara ushered David and Jake over to the door and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Natalie leaned away from the table and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright. Let me hear it."

"What the hell, Nad?" Dean wasn't going to waste anytime, he wanted to know why she felt the need to resort to torturing. He looked over at Bobby. "Did you know about this?"

Bobby gave Dean a look. "Yeah right. If I knew Nad was torturing don't you think I would have done everything to stop her. They both kept me out the entire year Dean. Clara never told me Nad was hunting with her."

"None of you were supposed to know." Natalie interjected, causing the three hunters to look at her incredulously. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Because this is something that we didn't expect." Sam answered, catching Natalie off guard since she didn't think he would be talking against this.

"Well, I told you three that I had been hunting the entire year-"

"Yeah, but, you didn't tell us this part." Dean said, walking closer to her. "Why the hell would you start torturing Nad? I mean, you? Torturing? I'm sorry that just doesn't sound right to me."

Natalie sighed, annoyed by their attempt to talk her out of doing this. "Listen. I've only done the torturing part a few times. All the other times Aunt Clara just exorcised them."

"A couple of times is to much, Nad!" Dean called out.

"Dean, is right Nad." Bobby began. "I mean just doing that kind of thing just one time can mess with your head. And not to mention the fact that this past year wasn't kind to you."

"That's the whole reason why I'm here in the first place!" Natalie barked at them. "This past year was hell. All of the anger that I had needed to be let out and Aunt Clara decided to bring me on her hunts for the demon. And when we would catch one...she would let me do the work."

Bobby shook his head. "I don't believe Clara would just let you torture something."

"She didn't. She was against it the whole time. But, the more we argued about it...the more pissed I got. So, she knew that the only thing she could do was leave me be."

"But, the past hunts we've been on. You seemed like your usual self." Sam added.

"That's because this part of me, the side that enjoys the torturing. I've learned to keep it hidden until it's time for it to come out." Natalie explained. She looked at the faces of the three hunters, seeing the skepticism in their eyes. "Listen! It's not like I'm going around looking for any creature to get my hands on so I can torture it! I'm not craving the urge to torture! I have it under control."

Dean slowly shook his head and stared at Natalie. "Nad. This isn't you." Natalie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "No, I'm serious. This isn't you. The Nad I know would never do something like this. She would never be this violent. She would try to avoid from doing something like this."

Natalie snapped her gaze over at Dean, her glare was hard and blank. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not the same precious innocent little Nad anymore. I've changed. That's what people do. All of you should know about that."

Dean, Bobby and Sam continued to stare at her and this time, she didn't back down from her reasoning. She wasn't feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny of their gazes. Though, she could feel a small amount of guilt in her for upsetting Dean and Bobby. She didn't care what Sam thought about all of this, after all, he was soulless.

Natalie cleared her throat and closed her eyes and hung her head back. "Look. I know you guys don't like this. But, you three have no idea what I've been through. Hunting down Elais became so...frustrating, that torturing the demons we caught was the only way to get information out of them, even though it wasn't much."

Opening her eyes she could still see the unsatisfied looks on their faces. "It was quick. Torture, get what you need then perform the exorcism. I'm sorry if you are disappointed...but, it's not gonna stop me." Natalie saw Dean's expression tense. "So if you guys don't want to be around for this...then leave."

Dean slowly shook his head. "Oh, no. We're staying right here."

Natalie thought for a moment maybe it was to support her, but, she knew that wasn't the truth. They would stay here so they could keep a eye on her. And in some way that just annoyed her even more, but, she wasn't in the mood to argue with them anymore. She needed to have a clear mind before she went down in this basement. And even though she didn't care what they thought, she didn't want them to be there to see it.

Natalie looked at each of them, seeing the agreement in their eyes and then sighed. "Fine."

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><p><strong>So what did you all think? Just to clear it up, Elais is a fictional demon, not based on any real figure. But, how do you feel about the thought of Nad torturing?!<strong>

**The actual torturing won't happen until the next chapter and I am hoping to get that posted by the end of the weekend so look out for that! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: And here is the next chapter for you all. This will have torture in it and I made sure not to go overboard with it, but, I hope that I wrote a good chapter. I honestly hope you all enjoy it. I am not a fan of torturing, but, it was an area that I knew I wanted to put Natalie through so I hope I did somewhat of a convincing job._

_Also on a related note. I just started my second year of college and I can already tell that this semester is going to kick my butt. So, that means updates are going to take longer because I'm going to be busy with school. I'm hoping to get at least one chapter up every weekend, but, we will have to see how everything plays out. So, this is just a heads up for you guys_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>The basement was dim, only lit by a few light bulbs that hung from the ceiling. All across the walls were shelves that were full with nothing but unopened boxes. They most likely contained family items that David had stored away, not wanting to look at them anymore. At the far end of this room was a chipped wood door that led to another room, which was where the demon was currently tied up.<p>

Natalie stood in front of the door, mentally preparing herself for the task that she was about to begin. It wasn't like she was nervous about it, she has done this several times. But, the more she simmered in her thoughts, the more she wished that Sam, Dean and Bobby would just leave. She didn't want them to see this, but, they were determined to stay here.

Taking in a deep breath, she reached her hand out and opened the door. Clara, David and Jake were already in the room, keeping an eye on the demon when Natalie's entrance caught their attention.

Natalie walked over to her Aunt, while keeping her glare focused on the weakened demon. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Clara asked, resting a hand on Natalie's shoulder.

"It's not the first time I've done this." Natalie answered, keeping her eyes on the demon. "You guys can wait out there."

Clara looked up at Sam, Dean and Bobby. "What about them?"

"They aren't going to let me do this alone. Just leave them here." Natalie answered quickly.

Clara stared at Natalie, already seeing her body tensing with the itch to get this task going. "Alright, then." Motioning for David and Jake to follow, Clara led the way out and gave the three hunters the nod to stay with Natalie.

Sam, Dean and Bobby settled themselves against the wall behind Natalie as she turned around and walked over to the table near them. Her eyes scanned over the table seeing the various objects she has used to torture in the past. Salt, Holy Water, her father's knife. Everything she needed was right here. Picking up her father's knife she dipped it into the holy water and then coated the blade with a thick layer of salt then set it back down.

Looking over at Dean, she could see a tense scrutinizing expression on his face and for a moment she could feel herself become guilt ridden. "Like I said before. If he tells me what we need...then I won't do it. But, if he doesn't..." Natalie finished seeing that Dean wasn't taking any other explanation from her. "Alright." She breathed out.

Closing her eyes, Natalie hung her head back, clearing her mind from anything that might jeopardize her ability to do this right. She was allowing this side of her to come back out and it was the side that none of them had seen before. Disappointment filled her mind, but, it was directed at herself. How did she allow herself to stoop this low? It was a question she had asked herself when she first began doing this and now it has become nothing more than a nagging thought.

That familiar calm soon made its presence and she allowed herself to crawl back into this grim mindset, where she didn't care about how brutal this would turn out. She had one goal and she was going to do whatever it took to achieve it.

Upon opening her eyes, Natalie let out a contented sigh and looked over at Dean, giving him a small smirk. That small little gesture caused Dean's brows to crease with worry. That was the sort of look he had never seen from her and honestly it scared him.

Turning around, she eyed the demon for a quick second, then picked up a chair and sat down in front of him. Even doing this, he didn't raise his head to look at her, which seemed to agitate her even more. "Hey." Natalie began, her head tilting down at him when he didn't respond. "Hello? Little demon...wakey, wakey."

After receiving no response, Natalie knew that he was just putting on an act. She brought her hand up and smacked him across the face, causing the room to echo with the hit. The demon jolted at her hit and let out a few groans.

"Hey! They didn't do anything to you, so stop with this bull shit act of yours." Natalie snarled, only to raise her brows as the demon lifted his head to look at her. Her face lit up with a cheeky grin once their eyes met. "There we go. That's what I wanted."

Throwing a small hit to his leg she began to settle herself more comfortable in the chair. "So. Mark. That's your name, right? Well, at least it's the name of the poor guy you're possessing. You wanna tell me your _real _name?"

The demon glared at Natalie, his face showing a blank menacing expression, but, it all seemed to fade when he let out a laugh. "Just call me Mark. Might as well, right? Use this body to its full use."

Natalie gave him a fake smile of forced amusement and hummed. "Fine. Mark. So, they told me that you spilled out the name of the demon we're looking for." The humorous look on Mark's face soon let up and Natalie smiled at herself. "Elais. You know him, no doubt about it. Let me ask you this first, were you apart of the legion that Amdusias brought with him?"

Mark scoffed as his head lolled a few times. "I was never apart of his legion. I have nothing to do with Amdusias or Elais, I could give a rats ass about them. I'm just your everyday typical demon. You know, taking over bodies, trying to live the simple good life."

"Nah, you see I don't buy that." Natalie leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. "If you didn't care about them, then why were you intent on keeping his name from us?"

"Why should I give you any kind of answer? You're hunters. I'm not going to give you anything."

Natalie clicked her tongue and smirked. "Well, you eventually cracked...just slightly though. And also, why were you running from us? Is it because you have information that we need?"

"I wasn't running because of that." Mark's voice was dripping with a faint panic. "I mean come on. A group of hunters tracking down a demon...yeah, I'm gonna try and cover up my tracks."

"Or you're were trying to get away from us so you wouldn't have to admit anything." Natalie offered. "So, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to ask you a few simple questions and all you have to do is answer them. Then this will all go smoothly. Got it?" She stared at Mark, not receiving any agreement from him, but, she nodded nonetheless. "Good."

Natalie sat back in her chair, crossed her leg over the other and folded her arms over her chest. "So, first thing. Where is Elais?"

Mark snickered and tilted his head back. "You really are wasting your time talking with me." Mark the leaned forward towards her. "I don't know."

Natalie gave him a small scolding look. "Now, Mark. You know lying is never a good thing. Come on tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth." He pressed once again, his tone now turning into a heavy annoyance towards her. "I don't know anything about Elais. You have better luck tracking down another demon and interrogating it."

Natalie stood up, leaned her hands on the arms of Mark's chair and stared him down. "I'm really not in the mood to be tugged at Mark. I have spent the whole year looking for this son of a bitch and I know...you have information that we need. So might as well tell us now. Because I can go all night with this."

Mark's eyes narrowed at her, his face evident of intense scrutiny and a smirk began to grow on his face. "Why is he so important to you?" Mark then made a faked empathetic face. "Oh, yeah, that's right. He killed your precious little daddy and mommy."

Natalie's face that had been stoic and frozen with determination had now been overwritten with intense pain. Hearing those words coming from a demon's mouth caught her off guard, more than she ever thought it would.

Mark face lightened with elation once he knew that he had her on a hook. "Slaughtered them more like it. Yeah, we all know what happened to them. Word gets around. And you know something, you're looking for Elais because you blame him for what happened, when really you should blame yourself." His expression soon turned into a questioning look. "You were there when it happened, right? And yet you did nothing to stop it."

Natalie slowly leaned away from Mark, feeling herself beginning to crawl back into that guilt ridden mindset that she had worked so hard to move on from this past year. All of the pain and anger came flooding back and her capability to handle herself was slowly slipping away.

"You didn't save them." Mark continued. "You sat there and watched them get slaughtered. If you have anyone to blame...it's yourself. It's _your _fault it happened. You killed your parents."

The action was so quick that she didn't register the punch that she threw across his face. The sickening impact of her fist against his face echoed. Her eyes were clouded with anger ridden tears as she threw another punch across his face. Natalie could feel her arms twitching with adrenaline as she threw two more punches across his face. Though, the action had the opposite effect, not one she was hoping to encounter. Mark simply laughed at the notion, moving around his sore jaw.

Natalie let out a breath before turning around and saw the shocked looks that she was receiving from Dean and Bobby, Sam not so much. Shaking her head, she walked over to the table and picked up the salted knifed when Dean's hand grabbed onto her arm.

"Nad. Maybe you shouldn't do this. Obviously he's getting to you." Dean said, trying to get her to agree with him.

"Dean. Let go." Natalie warned, not giving him a single look.

Dean hesitated, hearing the tone in her voice he knew that there was no way of convincing her to stop. Natalie was going to do whatever she wanted to and nothing he said would change her mind. Slowly, he removed his grip on her arm and he could see her body lose some of its tension.

Natalie finally breathed out and wiped at her eyes, ridding away an sign of weakness before she would face Mark again. The grip on her father's knife tightened and once she gained back control, picked up a gallon of holy water, she turned back around and walked over to him.

"Let's try this again." Natalie said as she kicked her chair across the room causing a loud crash as it made contact with the opposite wall. "Tell me where Elais is?" She asked again, keeping her knife closed to her side.

Mark spit out the blood that had gathered in his mouth. "I don't have anything to tell you."

"Strange." Natalie began. "Because you knew what happened to my parents."

"Like is said." Mark snapped. "The word got around. You're family has been hunting for generations...you think we wouldn't know about the Collins family? One by one, they killed hundreds of my kind."

"I'm asking this again. Where. Is. Elais?" Natalie asked, walking around till she was standing behind him.

"The only answer that you'll get from me is, I don't know."

Natalie nodded her head and quickly uncapped the jug began to pour the holy water down his body. His screams were instant and they increased in volume as the water continued to be poured. Once the gallon was empty, Natalie tossed it to the side of the room making it bounce for a second before finally settling.

"You going to tell me now?!" Natalie called out, as she leaned down next to his ear.

Mark's breathing had started turning into painful huffs as he tried to recover from her treatment. "I-I'm not...I have nothing to say to you."

Natalie brought up her knife and embedded it into his left shoulder, causing him to let out a long shrilling scream that caused even Dean and Bobby to cringe. "Come on Mark!" Natalie yelled out among his screams. "Like I said, I have all night!"

Mark bit down on his lip, sucking in hard breaths as he tried to find his words. "Screw you...bitch."

Natalie tilted her head to the side and twisted the knife which allowed another scream fit to ensue. "Mmm. That's not what I'm looking for Mark." Natalie added another twist to the knife and Mark began to squirm in his seat. "Come on! It can all end if you just tell me what I need! Where is Elais?" Natalie enunciated each word with a twist of the knife

Mark's head leaned back, not trying at all to hold back his screams. "You're crazy, bitch!"

Natalie yanked the knife out of his shoulder and walked around to stand in front of him again. "You think calling me a bitch is an insult? You should really brush up on that." She brought the knife up to his sweaty, white-washed face that was colored by the deep red from the blood streaming from his nose and dangled it, tauntingly in front of him. "Now, I'm gonna ask again. Where is he?"

"Go to hell."

"Wrong answer." Natalie stabbed the knife into his left thigh. His body tensed and his hands strained in their bonds as he filled the room with his pain induced screams. "You going to tell me now?" She asked, teasing him by pretending to twist the knife.

"No."

Natalie let out a huff and shook her head. "You really are stubborn, aren't you?" She asked as she walked back over to the table to pick up another gallon of holy water and the jar of salt. When she made her way make over to him, she uncapped the holy water and set it down next to her on the floor, then opened up the jar of salt.

"You sure you don't want to say anything?" She asked, holding up the salt so that he could see it. Even though she could see the hesitation in his eyes, he wasn't going to tell her anything in that moment.

To answer this, Natalie pulled out the knife from his leg and poured some of the salt into the freshly made wound. Mark's screams had become hoarse, yet, the pain that poured from them made Dean and Bobby want to stop the session. They felt for Natalie and could see her reasoning for resulting to torture, but this was too much for them to handle. Though, Natalie wasn't done. She casually picked up the gallon and poured holy water into the salted wound, which turned Mark's hoarse screams into shrieks of bloody murder.

"Okay! Okay!" Mark finally managed to call out, halting Natalie's pouring session. "Okay, I'll tell you."

Natalie pursed her lips and set down the gallon. "Finally cracked, huh? So, go ahead. Tell me."

Mark took a moment to catch his breath, knowing that it was hard enough to talk just a few seconds ago. "T-the last I heard about him...he was in Missouri. That was the last place I heard he was in."

Natalie nodded, glad with the small progress. "Okay. But, he's occupying a body. Who is he possessing?"

"Oh screw off, I told you what you wanted."

Natalie picked up the salt and holy water, stood up and poured them into his shoulder wound causing him to struggle in his seat. When both the container and gallon were empty, Natalie dropped the items and leaned his chair back slightly, making sure to press her fingers against his shoulder, pushing the salt deeper into his wound.

"What body is Elais possessing?" Natalie asked again.

"Okay...okay." Mark said, whimpering at the pressure. "He's... I heard he was possessing some local business man. Well known guy..."

"His name?" Natalie asked, but, when Mark didn't answer she pressed more into his shoulder, feeling his blood coating her hand as it streamed down her hand. "His name?!"

"Aaron Whitfield!" Mark finally answered, hoping that it would stop her from continuing her brutal treatment.

"And the name is legit? That's what you last heard?" She asked, making sure to clarify his information.

"Yes! Yes, that's the truth!"

"And you said that you weren't apart of Amdusias' legion, right?" Mark gave her a weak shake clearly still to focused on her painful pressure. Once she trusted the information, Natalie leaned away from Mark, her eyes scanning him up and down. Thinking, that this was the quickest torture she had done. Most of the others took her hours to crack them.

"Thanks for your cooperation Mark."

Turning around, she motioned for Sam, Bobby and Dean to follow her as she made her way out of the room. Clara, David and Jake were waiting, all of their faces were grim with what they had heard coming from the other room.

"Well, I managed to crack him. Elais was last possessing a guy by the name of Aaron Whitfield. And he was in Missouri. So, maybe, you guys can get to work on finding him."

David and Jake both slowly nodded their heads. "Yeah, uh, we'll get right to that." David answered and then walked back upstairs with Jake following him.

Clara continued to stare at Natalie. The combination of the blood on her hand and the looks on the other's faces, she knew that this was something Natalie needed to stop.

Natalie could feel multiple eyes on her and she could sense the scrutiny that were pouring from them. "Aunt Clara. You can go and perform the exorcism now." She said as she began to walk back upstairs.

Clara quickly grabbed her arm, forcing Natalie to stop. "I heard what he said...about your mom and dad."

"Don't, Aunt Clara please-"

"It's not your fault Nad. I know you blamed yourself for what happened. Don't let him get to you because it's not true. And I can see you're starting to blame yourself again."

Natalie looked up at Clara and she could hear her aunt suck in a small breath at the tears that were brimming in her eyes. "I'm fine, Aunt Clara." She answered, the break in her voice was evident. "Just go perform the exorcism." Natalie yanked her arm from Clara's grasp and walked back upstairs.

...

She couldn't stop thinking about it. Not a lot of time had passed since the torturing, but, usually by now Natalie would have forgotten about. Actually, not necessarily forgotten, but, she would have moved on by now...but, she hasn't. The looks on Dean, Bobby and even Sam's faces were burned into her mind. Mark's screams continued to echo around in her head. For some reason, when she thought about it, she wasn't thinking about the demon...she was thinking about the actual person. The more she thought about it, she began to feel like she was torturing the person...not the demon.

But, that thought would get shot down when she remembered what the demon had said to her. _It's your fault it happened. You killed your parents. _Those words hit her harder then she had expected. It was one thing to witness it and think about it. But, to hear it from the mouth of a demon, that was apart of the species that was responsible for her parent's death, it was unbearable. In a way, it made the events of their deaths even more real.

Standing in the kitchen, Natalie leaned her back against the wall, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself from the nights events. But, as she continued to think about it, Natalie felt her tears stream down her face and her hands covered her mouth, quieting the sobs that were escaping.

Really, she didn't know why she was crying all of a sudden. She didn't know why she was letting that demon get to her like this. Though, Natalie could only surmise, that all of the stress with Dean and Bobby and then the whole thing with Sam being soulless. All of it had been weighing her down and tonight was the icing on the cake.

All the pent up emotions that had come from this entire year and the recent events were finally breaking their way through. Instead of holding them back, Natalie decided to just let everything come through. She was tired of holding it back. Usually, by now, Natalie would have gotten a long lecture from Sam, Dean and Bobby. And the one person she would have gone to was Sam. He would have told her that everything was going to be fine. But, that wasn't going to happen tonight...or any other night for quite some time.

Natalie could feel her sobs slowly diminishing into small chokes and the tears finally stopped. She tiredly wiped at the trail stains on her cheeks and took in a breath. _I need some air. _Natalie pushed herself away from the wall and turned to walk down the main hallway when she stopped at the sight of Dean standing in the entryway of the kitchen.

Her mouth fell slightly agape and by the look on his face, she knew that he had seen everything. Usually, Natalie would have done whatever she could to cover up something like this, but, she decided against it. Her arms hung numbly by her side as she waited for Dean to give her the long awaited lecture she had been anticipating.

Dean could see the tiredness in her eyes and the way she held herself right now, she just looked broken. He knew that it was only a matter of time before all of this finally cracked down on her. Dean wanted to tell her not to do this again, he wanted to go into a huge talk about why she should stop. And, although, it was the one thing he wanted to do, Dean refrained himself from doing so. Natalie had already went through a lot tonight and he didn't want to make it worse.

Natalie wiped at her eyes again, feeling a little uncomfortable to the fact that he was just staring at her and not saying anything. She raised her arms in a tired, defeated gesture. "Are you not going to rip into me?" Her voice trembled towards the end. "Because I probably deserve it. I mean look what I did to myself."

Dean slowly walked around and carefully wrapped his arms around Natalie, holding her in a comfortable yet firm hold. Natalie rested her head against his shoulder as her arms tightened around him.

"It's going to be fine, Nad." Dean reassured her, as his hand cradled the back of her head.

Natalie closed her eyes, feeling them fill with tears at his words. It was his words that brought her some kind of comfort and reassurance that everything was going to turn out right. Their hunt for Elais. And the task of getting Sam's soul back. She knew that Dean's words were hopeful reassurance for not only what happened tonight, but, for everything that was coming their way.

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><p><strong>So how did you all like it? Did you like dark!nad? If so, would you possibly like to see more of her? Let me know! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N:I wanted to get this chapter up last weekend but homework was just hounding me. So I was able to finish it today and was finally able to upload it! Since it's Labor Day weekend this week I HOPE that I will be able to get another chapter up for you guys._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>The house was quiet all through the night, except for the sounds of Clara performing the exorcism, which Natalie made sure not to listen to it. Natalie had locked herself up in the study, not allowing anyone in. Bobby, Dean, Clara, Jake...not even Sam, even though he didn't really make an effort to actually talk with her. She didn't want to talk with them about it since she didn't have the mental capacity to do so. The one thing she needed after all of that, was to be alone.<p>

After keeping herself away from the others throughout the entire night, Natalie finally emerged from the room and made her way into the kitchen. David, Jake, and Clara were standing near the kitchen counter, talking to each other, no doubt about last night's events.

Clara turned and looked at Natalie, offering a small smile. "Hey, Nad."

Natalie gave her Aunt a nod as she looked around the room. "Where are they?"

"Outside. Dean and Sam are getting the Impala ready. I asked them to get it ready so they could get you out of here. Back out on the road. You don't need to stay here any longer, Nad."

Natalie pursed her lips to the side. "Did you guys start the search for Aaron Whitfield?"

"Yeah, we did." David answered. "It's gonna take some time, but, we are working on it. You don't need to worry, Nad."

Natalie remained silent, but, David knew that it was her way of acknowledging what he had said. "Well. Then, I guess I should get going then."

Clara walked out from behind the counter and over towards Natalie, her hands bracing against her shoulders. "Don't worry about this Nad. Don't think about it, alright? Just try and forget it."

Natalie gave her Aunt a sad smile. "I don't think it'll work. You know me. Every time I try to forget about something...I always fail at it."

Clara wrapped her arms around Natalie, pulling her close. "Just try Nad."

Natalie nodded as her arms tightened around Clara. "Promise you won't keep anything from me." She quickly whispered. "If you find him...promise me you will tell me. Don't keep that away from me."

Clara sighed holding Natalie closer to her. "I promise Nad." She gave Natalie a few reassuring rubs on her back, which for the time being, allowed Natalie's mind to calm a bit more.

Pulling away, Natalie glanced over at David and Jake, giving them both a smile which they returned. Looking back at Clara, she received only a nod, ushering her to go ahead and leave. Natalie turned around and headed out the door.

Once outside, Natalie spotted Bobby standing near the Impala, talking with Dean and Sam. Slipping her hands into her jean pockets, she slowly made her way over to them. Bobby paused his conversation when he saw Natalie approach them and, instead, gave her a small smile.

"How are you doing Nad?"

Natalie gave Bobby a small shrug, giving a quick glance over to Dean and Sam. "Fine."

"You ready to get out of here?" Dean was the one to ask next.

Natalie pursed her lips and nodded, absentmindedly. "First, I just need to talk with Bobby."

Dean raised his brows and nodded, giving Bobby a look. "Okay, that's fine. We'll uh...give you two some time."

Bobby guided Natalie away from the Impala, allowing the two of them some decent privacy. "What's going on Nad?"

"I, um." Natalie began and ran a hand through her hair. "I just wanted to say...I'm sorry."

Giving her a bemused look, Bobby shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry about what?"

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Everything. From what you saw me do last night..." She could see his expression change. "...and everything else." She added quickly. "I'm sorry...especially, with how I acted with the whole thing about you...knowing that Sam was alive."

Bobby's shoulders tensed up and he sucked in a breath. "Nad. You know that I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know Bobby." Natalie interrupted him, wanting to get her point across. "But, I have taken a lot of time to think about it and I was able to accept what you did and I understand it. I know why you did what you did and...I forgive you Bobby. I'm sorry for how brash I was towards all of it."

Bobby's face softened with a smile and he gently pulled Natalie into his arms. "You got nothing to be sorry about kiddo. This past year was not good and I know. There is nothing for you to be sorry about. But, now everything can try and go back to how it was before."

Natalie's arms around Bobby, tightened as the thought of Sam being soulless soon flooded her mind. "Except for Sam." She whispered and she could hear the pain in her voice. "He's not Sam, Bobby...he's not..."

Bobby instinctively tightened his hold on her. "I know, Nad. I know." He said, trying his best to soothe her. "Dean told me. We're gonna get his soul back Nad. We're gonna fix this."

"I hope so, Bobby." Natalie finally dropped her hold around him and looked up at Bobby, seeing that he was giving her some sort of reassurance, which she accepted.

"You better get going. Don't want to keep the boys waiting." Bobby said, gently ushering her towards the car. "Dean. Sam." Bobby called out, then motioned them over to him. He gave Natalie the go to get inside the car, telling her that he wanted to talk with Sam and Dean alone.

Natalie gave Bobby one last glance before making her way over to the car.

"Yeah?" Dean asked once he and Sam were standing in front of Bobby.

"Now, you three find a job. Any job. I don't care where, just find one and stick to it. Nad's gonna need something to get her mind off of all this."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan."

"Also." Bobby started, giving the boys a look. "You _two _watch her closely." Bobby said, thought his attention was more directed towards Dean, since he knew it wasn't much use to pound this into Sam's head. "She's not...in the right mind set right now. So, keep an eye on her."

Dean nodded solemnly. "You know we will Bobby."

Bobby eyed Dean briefly, and then looked over at Sam, who gave him a few nods. "Okay, you three get going then."

Dean and Sam turn away and make their way over to the car, quickly getting in. Starting up the engine, Dean slowly drove down the pathway leading back onto the main road.

* * *

><p>"Of course it's not UFO's. It's fairies."<p>

Natalie paused and blinked a few times, giving the woman a confused look.

Dean cleared his throat and tilted his head. "Fairies. Okay. Well, thank you for your input."

"What? Flying saucers not insane enough for you?" Sam asked in almost a mocking tone.

"What newspaper did you say you worked for?" The woman asked them.

"Okay, if you want to add glitter to that glue you're sniffing, that's fine, but don't dump your whackadoo all over us. We'd rather not step in it."

Natalie's eyes widened as she grabbed Sam's arm and began to pull him away. "Okay! We are done here." She looked over at Dean, silently telling him to get Sam away from this woman.

"The only thing you're missing is a couple dozen cats, sister." Sam added, as Dean began to lead him away.

"Sorry. Very sorry about that." Natalie quickly apologized to the woman before following Dean and Sam back towards the car. "Well, that was just awesome Sam."

"What?"

Dean scoffed. "Right you have to ask."

"Come on, you seriously can't believe what that lady was saying." Sam added.

"Sam that's not the point." Natalie answered, casting him a scolding look. "You don't get go all out on people like that."

"Really though, this all has to be a joke. I mean we're not actually taking this UFO crap seriously, are we?"

"Come on Sam. ET is made of rubber. Everybody knows that. But there are four legitimate vanishings in this town. Something's going on."

"And don't you think that it might be a good idea to check it out. See what's going on?" Natalie asked him, casting a quick glance.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam finally relented.

"Oh and Sam? By the way, it's not that lady's fault that she took the brown acid." Dean added.

Sam gave his brother a look. "So?"

Dean closed his eyes and sighed. "Empathy, man. Empathy. I mean, the old Sam would have given her some wussified, dew-eyed crap."

"Yeah, well, old Sam had a soul-was a soul. Whatever."

Natalie bit down on her lip upon hearing the carelessness in his voice. "Yeah. And that means you are going to have to start taking things into consideration. I don't care if you feel like you need to or not."

Sam huffed out in annoyance. "Right." He replied, not a hint of enthusiasm could be located in his tone.

"Right?" Dean repeated. "Right, as in, what, you don't care?" Dean could see the look on Sam's face and that was the only answer he needed. "Sam, you have to care." Dean answered as they reached the car.

"About what? What am I supposed to care about?"

Natalie stared at Sam and scoffed. "About what? About...everything Sam. You need to care about everything around you."

"Care enough to the point you will be human at least." Dean added.

"Look you two obviously care. A lot. And that's great. But, I can't care because I just...don't care. What do you two want me to do, fake it?"

Dean and Natalie remained silent for a moment. "Yes." They both spoke.

"Just fake it. Fake it as much as you need to." Dean said.

"What happened with you wanting me to be honest about everything?"

Dean raised his arms up. "Hey, you wanna be a real boy, Pinnochio, you gotta act the part. Got it?"

"I was faking it Dean! I mean ever since we got back on the road together-even when Nad started hitching along again, I was picking every freaking word. It's exhausting."

Natalie slowly shook her head and blinked. "I can't believe I am hearing this right now."

Dean raised his hand up to try and calm down the scene. "Alright. Just...until we get you back on the soul train, we'll be your conscience, okay?"

"So, basically, like Jiminy Cricket."

"Shut up." Dean opened the driver side door. "But yeah, you freaking puppet. That's exactly what I'm saying." He said, before sliding into the car.

Natalie sighed heavily and opened the car door and quickly got in.

* * *

><p>Entering the shop, the three of them quickly spot a man sitting at a table. Dean looks at him curiously, then leads the way towards him. "Mr. Brennan?" He asked.<p>

The man stopped and turned to them. "Yes?"

"We're with The Mirror. We would like to ask you a few questions."

"What? Is this about Patrick?" Mr. Brennan asked, only to receive a nod from them. "Patrick's gone."

"Missing. Right. That's what we wan to talk to you about." Dean added.

"Now your son was the first to disappear." Sam began.

"First to be taken." Mr. Brennan interrupted.

Natalie's brows furrowed at the certainty in his voice. "Taken?"

"Just get out!"

Natalie stepped back slightly at the sudden change in his mood.

"Mr. Brennan, who do you believe took your son?" Dean began to question, hoping to get something else out of him.

"You people can't help me. My boy is never coming back."

"You sound awfully sure." Sam pointed out.

Mr. Brennan gave Sam a confused look. "Excuse me?"

"Like you know something you're not talking about."

"Okay. Alright." Dean stepped in, before Sam could go any further.

"You know what they say. 72 hours. After that, the odds of finding a missing person drop to nothing, right?" Mr. Brennan asked.

"Not all cases are like that." Natalie said, trying to offer some reassurance.

"It's been weeks."

Natalie pursed her lips and dropped her gaze from him.

"Listen. Call us if anything comes to mind." Dean said, handing him a card.

The three of them turned around and made their way out of the shop. Once they were back out on the street, Dean let out a scoff. "Well, wasn't that just a pleasant thing."

"So what do you think?" Sam asked, as they made their way over to the Impala.

"Well, I think he's hiding something." Dean answered.

"You think he might have something to do with his son going missing?" Natalie was the next to the ask.

"Maybe, can't be to sure. Why don't you two stay here and watch Mr. Watchmaker and see what happens when the sun goes down and I'll go check out the crop circles."

"Okay." Sam said quickly.

Natalie let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Alright."

Dean gave Natalie a small look and then turned his attention to Sam. "Listen, I don't want you to engage with him or maim or in any way kill Brennan. That's why I'm having Nad stay with you. Whatever she says, you go with, got it?"

Sam gave Dean a half nod. "Yeah, I got it."

Dean nodded at his brother's answer before looking back over at Natalie. "You okay with this Nad?"

With a shrug, she gave him a half hearted smile. "I'm fine with it. Seems pretty easy enough."

"Okay." Dean made his way around the car over to the drivers side and stopped to look back at them. "If anything happens, you two call me."

Natalie gave Dean a salute of acknowledgement which was enough for him. Natalie and Sam watched as Dean got into the car and then drove away from them. After a moment, she looked up at him and gave him a small nudge in the arm causing him to look down at her.

"Come on, let's go see what Mr. Brennan does for his free time."

* * *

><p><strong>So what did you all think? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: So I am considering the possibility of getting a BETA reader from now on. That way I can get an extra hand on these chapters. Not to sure yet. Random thought, sorry about that._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>A waitress walked over to a table and sets down a beer in front of Sam, who in return, offers the woman a smirk. As she walked back over to the counter, Sam sneaked a quick look at her and hummed in approval. Picking up his beer he looked up at Natalie, seeing that he was receiving a hardened stare from her.<p>

His brows furrowed quickly. "What?"

Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What?" Sam asked again.

"Nothing." Natalie replied, focusing her attention back on Mr. Brennan who was currently sitting over at the bar, drinking. "Well, to be honest, I'm not getting much from this guy. Other than the fact that he loves his drinks...I mean he really loves them."

Sam took another drink from his beer then turned around in his seat, looking over at Mr. Brennan. "Yeah." He then pulled out his cell phone. "Let me call Dean."

"Okay." Natalie quickly looked over at Sam before looking back over at Mr. Brennan.

_"What?" _Dean's voice came through from the other end.

"Hey. So the only thing we can tell that this guy is up to is alcoholism." Sam said into the phone.

_"Okay, good."_

"I don't know. Maybe Nad and I should try and talk to him again. I mean, you're the one who said he's hiding something."

_"Shh."_

Sam stopped and turned back around in his seat, facing Natalie. "What's going on Dean?"

Natalie's attention focused on Sam once the words left his mouth.

_"Hang on a second." _Dean spoke and a brief silence followed. _"Holy. UFO! UFO!"_

Sam pulled the phone away from his ear, cringing at the loudness in Dean's voice but it put Natalie on edge. "Whoah! Dude stop yelling, you're breaking up. I didn't catch that last part."

_"Close encounter! Close encounter!"_

Sam's eyes widened. "Close encounter!"

Natalie leaned up in her seat towards Sam. "What's going on?"

"What kind? First? Second?" Sam asked, ignoring Natalie's question.

_"They're after me!"_

"Third kind already? You better run, man. I think the fourth kind is a butt thing."

"Sam give me the phone." Natalie leaned forward, her arm reaching out towards Sam's phone only to have him quickly hit her hand away. She stared at him, eyes slightly widened, and received a look from Sam. "Did you just..." Natalie once again went after the phone only to have Sam grab onto her arm and move it away from him.

"Are they still after you?" Sam asked, making sure to keep Natalie from getting his phone.

"Sam! Give me the phone!" Natalie tried getting her arm out of his grip. She brought her other arm over, finally grabbing onto Sam's phone. "Give me the damn phone!" Yanking it from his hand Natalie moved away and placed the phone to her ear.

"Dean? Hello? You there?" Natalie pulled the phone away when they didn't receive a response. "Well that's just great." She said turning back to Sam. "What did he say?"

Sam shrugged. "Uh, said something about 'they're after him'."

Natalie stared at Sam for what felt like forever. The lack of emotion in his voice seemed to snap something in her when she suddenly hit him on the shoulder. Sam looked up at her, brows creased in confusion. "What the hell was that for?"

"Seriously, Sam! Do you not think that something really bad might have happened?"

Sam simply shrugged. "I don't know. We'll go and see what happened soon."

Natalie scoffed and threw another hit at Sam's shoulder.

"Nad! Seriously!" Sam complained.

"God you are just so...just so..." Natalie tossed the phone back over to him. "God just never mind." She said before turning around and headed for the door.

Sam caught the phone and slid it into his pocket. "Wait, Nad, where are you going?"

Natalie stopped and looked back over to Sam. "I'm going to find Dean. So just stay here if you want to. I'll handle it myself. Just, when you get done with your beer, make yourself useful and see if there is anything you can find on...UFOs."

She cringed to herself just by saying the words

Not waiting for his answer, Natalie turned around and threw open the door and walked out, heading down the sidewalk. "Okay. Cornfield. First, I need a flashlight...back at the motel." Natalie said to herself as she began to make her way back to the motel.

* * *

><p>There was nothing but an eerie silence that surrounded Natalie as she quietly walked through the cornfield. Her flashlight raised up in front of her while she fought with her other arm in pushing the corn stalks out of her way.<p>

"And to think, after seeing _Signs, _I vowed to never walk in a cornfield. Well look at me now." Natalie said to herself.

A subtle wind soon blew from behind Natalie, causing the corn stalks to rustle and bend in various directions. The sound and the sight of this caused a shiver to go down her spine. Natalie quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Sam's number, wanting to know if he found anything yet.

The ringing went on until it went to voicemail. Natalie re-dialed out Sam's number and pressed the phone back to her ear only to receive his voicemail.

"Sam." Natalie spoke after the beep. "Hey, why aren't you answering your phone? Anyway call me back. Let me know if you found anything yet."

Pulling the phone away, she then quickly dialed Dean's number and put the phone back to her ear.

After the first ring, the very faint sound of music began to play. She stopped walking and looked around her in all directions. Finally, she was able to narrow down the direction in which the music was coming from. The ringing soon stopped and went to Dean's voicemail prompting Natalie to re-dial his number which made the music play once again, but, this time it was closer.

Natalie continued following the music which ultimately led her to a clear pathway that was created by god only knows. But, on the ground in front of her, she spotted a small light which was the source of the music. Natalie quickly ran over to the phone and picked it up and ended the call on her phone.

Looking up, her eyes scanned the area in front of her and she let out a breath. "Great. Dean, you really were abducted."

Her attention soon caught onto the slow, distant rumble from an engine and it sounded an awful lot like the Impala. Standing back up, Natalie brought up the flashlight and followed the path towards the noise. Soon she came to a clearing and ahead, she spotted the headlights from the Impala.

With a sigh, Natalie pulled out her phone and began to dial out a number. "Hope you pick up this time Sam."

"There's no need for that."

Natalie jumped and turned around to see Sam standing behind her and she lowered the phone. "God...dammit Sam!"

Sam gave her a look. "What?"

"You don't just...walk up behind me like that. Seriously, I didn't even hear you." Natalie said as she put the phone back into her pocket. "Why weren't you answering my calls?"

"Like you told me to, I tried to find something and I think I know a place where we could go to get info."

Natalie gave him an expectant look. "Why didn't you just call me and tell me so I could meet you there?"

Sam remained quiet then gave her a shrug. "I don't know."

Natalie's eyes closed and she took in a breath. "Okay. Well where is this place at?"

"I'll show you. Get in the car." Sam walked passed Natalie towards the Impala.

...

Sam flipped through a small stack of papers and then looks back up. "So, UFO's...they are real then."

"Like I said before, son, the truth is out there." Wayne offered.

Natalie takes the papers from Sam and begin to skim through them. "Okay, you're the expert. How do I get them?"

Wayne gave Sam a look. "Come again?"

"You hunt ET's, right? I need to know how to get them."

"You and me both." Wayne scoffed.

Natalie finishes skimming through the papers and then looks down on the table at the various research that Wayne had compiled. "So...all of this right here is all you have?"

Wayne gave her a nod. "30 years of eyewitness accounts speak for themselves as incontrovertible proof."

"Yeah, right." Sam interrupted. "My brother was abducted so I'm pretty good on the whole proof part."

"You're brother was abducted?" The voice of a woman came through prompting Sam and Natalie to turn around.

"Yeah." Sam blatantly stated. "It's fine. I mean, I've had time to adjust."

Natalie glared at Sam long enough for him to catch onto and he gave her a shrug. "Anyways." Natalie said turning back to Wayne. "So you don't have anything that could help us to try and find these things."

"No. Nothing that I could come across."

"So, you've been hunting UFO's for over three decades and you basically have no concrete data and zero workable leads." Sam scoffed at the look on Wayne's face. "Have you considered the possibility that you suck at hunting UFO's?"

"Okay!" Natalie quickly pushed Sam to the side "How about you take a little breather?" She quietly said to him. Natalie leaned her hands on the table in front of her. "Listen, if someone were to get abducted, is there anything we can do?"

"There is nothing. If someone did get abducted it could take weeks, months hell maybe even years if they were to ever show up."

Natalie huffed and shook her head. "You have to have something that can help me."

"Sorry. You looking for your brother right?"

"No, he's not my brother he's my friend and I need to get him back."

Wayne shrugged and shook his head. "I'm sorry. Wish there was more that I could tell you."

Natalie nodded and bit down on her lip. "Okay. Thanks." Wayne gave her a nod then walked back into his trailer.

"Okay, Sam we need to-" Natalie turned to her side to find that Sam was no longer there. Looking around her she didn't spot the young woman either, that only meant one thing. "Oh this is just fantastic. Gone to get yourself screwed. That's just great."

Natalie took one last look around the camp and then began to head out back to the cornfield. "I'll just do this myself then."

* * *

><p>Finding herself back in the cornfield, all she wanted to do was figure out a way to get Dean back. How she was going to accomplish this, she had absolutely no idea. She fought demons, vampires, werewolves, ghouls and yet, when it comes to UFO's everything seemed so new to her.<p>

Wielding her flashlight in front of her, she began to retrace the steps that she had taken earlier when she came out here. Her ringtone soon began to go off which made her stop and pull out her phone.

Looking down at the screen she could see a few text messages that Clara had sent her, in her mind, she felt that it was about their demon. She went to read one of them when she began to hear yelling coming from the clearing. Her head snapped up when she heard this and she didn't break out into a run until gunshots followed.

Her arms pushed the corn stalks aside as she ran through the fields, hoping that she wouldn't trip. Finally coming to the clearing, she spotted Dean wielding his gun around and she was more than happy to see that he was fine.

"Dean!" Natalie called out as she made her way over to him. "Dean."

Dean stopped and looked over at Natalie, finally able to take in his surroundings, realizing he was back. "Nad?"

Natalie nodded. "Hey, you alright? Though that's probably not the best question for me to ask."

"No. No, I'm fine." Dean said, though Natalie gave him a doubtful look.

Dean looked around them. "Where's Sam?"

Natalie sighed. "He's back at the motel. Having some fun."

Dean took a moment and then his face lightened with realization. "Oh. Wait, he just went off and left you?"

"Yeah. Actually I am not surprised about that. Anyways, let's get you back to the motel." Natalie offered. "Oh and..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Guess I should give this back to you." She said, handing it over to him.

Dean nodded in thanks and looked over at the spot where he had left the Impala. "Where's the car?"

Natalie looked over to where Dean was talking about. "Sam took it. It's back at the motel. We're gonna have to walk, hope that's fine with you."

"Yeah, either way, it means I get out of this damn cornfield."

Natalie gave him a small smile. "Alright, then. Let's go."

...

The two of them finally made it to the motel parking lot and Dean let out a relieved laugh. Natalie stopped, remembering the messages and then pulled out her phone. She continued her walk to the motel, thought at a slower rate, making sure to read the messages thoroughly.

_Manage to track down not Aaron, but a few people who knew him. Said that they haven't seen him in months._

Natalie quickly typed out a message back. _You think Elais is still using Aaron as his own meat suit?_

Natalie walked fully up to the motel door where Dean was currently standing. Once she reached him, she looked over his shoulder, seeing Sam in bed with the woman from the camp. "Oh god." Natalie turned away and leaned up against the motel window.

"Please just hurry up, put your clothes on." Dean said to both Sam and the woman. He then looked over at Natalie seeing the look on her face. Dean moved away from the door allowing the woman through.

When the woman saw Natalie, she gave her a small smile though it was only answered by Natalie's hardened glare. It only made the woman walk away faster. Natalie pushed herself away from the window and walked into the motel room, shutting the door behind her.

"You're upset. I know both of you are." Sam began.

"No, really?!" Dean called out. "I was abducted and you were here screwing with Patchouli."

Sam made a face. "I didn't think she smelled that bad."

Dean stared at his brother incredulously. "I was abducted by aliens Sam!"

"I was looking into it."

Dean scoffed. "Oh yeah, right. As far as I'm concerned Nad was the only one doing something about it. And, besides, I was gone for like an hour."

Both Sam and Natalie stare at Dean confusingly. "An hour-"

"Dean you weren't gone for an hour." Natalie said.

"Of course I was."

Natalie slowly shook her head. "Dean...it's four a.m."

"No it's not." Dean looked around and saw the clock on the night table read four a.m. "What the hell?"

"UFO Time slip!" Sam suddenly called out. "That actually falls in line with a lot of abduction stories."

"Falls in line..." Sam nodded. "Nothing about this is falling in line."

Natalie walked over to Dean and ushered him over to one of the beds and sat him down. "Okay, Dean, just take it easy." Natalie walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Here." She said handing it to him.

"Thanks." Dean popped open the bottle and took a drink.

Natalie leaned against the kitchen table, arms crossed over her chest as Sam sat on the other bed. "What happened Dean?" She asked.

"Well, there was this..." Dean let out a laugh. "God help me, there was this bright white light."

Sam offered Dean a forced sympathetic look and patted his leg, which made both Natalie and Dean to give him a look. "It's okay. Safe room."

Though there was something about the way Sam said this that caused Natalie to almost smirk, but, she pursed her lips and rubbed her neck to avoid it.

"And then suddenly, I was, uh, I was in a different place. There were these beings, and they were too bright to look at, but I could feel them pulling me towards this sort of table-"

"A probing table." Sam exclaimed. Natalie cringed at the thought and Dean groaned in disgust.

"God don't say that out loud!"

"Right. So what did you do?" Sam continued.

"I went crazy. I started hacking and slashing and firing. They actually seemed surprised. I don't think anybody's ever done that before. Yeah." Dean stood up from the bed and look at Sam and Natalie. "I had a close encounter and I won."

Sam nodded silently. "You should take a shower."

Dean nodded in agreement. "Yeah I should take a shower. I'm...I'm gonna take a shower now."

Natalie stood in silence allowing Dean's account to fully sink in and then she hummed to herself. "Aliens. Awesome."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it? Yes, I put in a reference to Signs because that movie scared the crap out of me as a kid and even to this day, I refuse to walk in a cornfield. Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Ugh I hate having these long periods in-between updates! School hasn't lighten up yet, which really bums me out and it's taking me longer to get these chapters written out. Hopefully I will be able to catch a break soon._

_On to something happier, so these past few days have been filled with amazing things for us spn fans. First the Mockumentary and the S9 Bloopers. And now, have you all seem the season 10 promo? Ugh, I am so excited for October 7th! If you haven't seen it go and watch it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>"So, to recap on all of this. Along with the demons and the angels and the ghosts and the freaking skinwalkers, it turns out there are actually..." Dean paused, silently mulling over his words.<p>

Natalie looked over at him, her cheek resting against her palm, waiting for him to continue.

"If aliens are actually real, then what's next? Hobbits? I mean seriously."

Natalie sighed and tapped the fingers from her other hand on the table. "I don't know. The more I think about it...I mean from what we've seen..." Pausing, she could see the look on Dean's face and she shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. It's weird."

Dean looked back over at Sam, who gave the waitress a look. "You just gave her the silent how ya doin'." Dean spoke out.

Sam looked at him, brows creased slightly. "What?"

"Our reality's collapsing around us, and you're trying to up our waitress?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah, okay. Look. Brings up a question. So, say you got a soul and you're on a case, and your brother gets abducted by aliens-"

"Yeah, then you do everything you can to get him back." Dean finished.

"Right. You do, but, what about when there are no more leads for the night? Are you supposed to just sit there in the dark and suffer, even when there's nothing that can be done at that moment?"

Dean and Natalie remain silent, both of them staring down at Sam. "Yes! That's exactly what you do." Dean finally answered.

Though Sam seemed to be genuinely confused. "What?"

"Yes, you sit in the dark a-and you feel the loss." Dean explained further.

"Absolutely! But couldn't I just do all that and have sex with the hippie chick?"

Natalie moved her hand through her hair finally letting out a snort which caught both of the boys' attention. Looking back up she slowly shook her head. "Sorry. Don't mind me over here."

"You're finding this to amusing Nad." Dean remarked.

"Yeah, well that's my way of trying to find some light in all of this." Natalie explained, settling back against her chair.

Dean sighed and looked back over at his brother when the waitress hands them their recipe. "Thank you." Dean said to her as she walked away.

"Well then why not?" Sam asked, returning back to their previous conversation.

"Because if you had a freaking soul, your soul wouldn't let you." Dean answered.

"So you're saying having a soul equals suffering." Sam added.

Dean nodded and placed down a tip on the table. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Like, the million times you almost called Lisa." Sam said, receiving a look from Dean. "So you're saying suffering is a good thing."

"I'm saying it's the only game in town." Dean said.

"Okay. So how do we deal with the little green men?" Sam asked.

"Research." Dean answered causing Natalie to hum in response. "We've got about a century of UFO lore to catch up on, and there's not time for-" Dean stopped as he looked out the diner window, spotting a man glaring at him.

"What's up with that guy?" Dean said, keeping his eyes fixed on the man.

Natalie and Sam looked at Dean confusingly then followed his gaze towards the window. "Who?" Sam asked.

"The guy by the window giving me the stink eye." Dean replied.

Sam furrowed his brows. "You mean the cop?"

Dean turned to Sam and Natalie then pointed to where he saw the man. "No, not the cop! The guy! He's right-" Dean looked back only to find he was no longer there. "Oh now he's gone."

Sam and Natalie casted a glance at each other and Natalie answered him with a shrug. "Who's gone?" Sam tried again.

Dean looked at Sam. "Can we please just get out of here before I hit you?"

"Okay! Geez."

* * *

><p>Sam was in the library while Dean was still back at the motel. This gave Natalie the perfect time to go take a walk and finally call Clara, see what is going on with the whole Elais situation.<p>

"So, what did you guys manage to get on this Aaron guy?"

_"Well, almost his entire biography. Born 1970 in Missouri. Attended Truman State. Graduated with a degree in Economics. Started his own business at 29. He's a pretty influential man in his area."_

Natalie nodded. "Okay. And is there anything that can clue to us that Elais is in fact possessing him?"

_"From what we are able to gather so far, Aaron is just a normal business man. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for he was in a car accident at the age of 17. Nothing weird."_

Letting out a sigh, Natalie bit down on her lower lip. "Have you guys been able to contact him in any way?"

_"We tried calling his business, told us he was on holiday. We asked where, of course they never told us. Didn't even give us his number."_

"You think maybe some of the workers are some of his demons? Covering up for him?" Natalie asked.

_"I wouldn't put it past him. Ensures that he can cover up his tracks fairly well. Don't worry Nad, we're gonna find him. I'm positive that he's still using Aaron as his vessel."_

"I sure hope so Aunt Clara." Natalie began to make her way back towards the motel.

_"How are things going on with you and the boys?"_

"Uh." Natalie pursed her lips. "Fine, I guess. There's still a lot that I need to tell you. Just..." Natalie paused and looked around. "Just not right now. I've got quite a bit going on."

_"It's fine Nad. How are you doing besides that?"_

"I'm okay. Been focusing on this job so that's helping take my mind off of certain things." Natalie looked head and could see the motel not to far from her. "Okay, Aunt Clara I'm gonna go. Call when you find anything else."

_"Will do."_

Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call then slid the phone into her pocket. As she made her way up to the motel door, Sam met up with her. "How did all of that research go?"

Sam sighed and gave a slight roll of his eyes. "Too much information on UFOs."

Natalie smirked faintly.

The motel door opened frantically and Dean appeared, his eyes were wide and he quickly ushered them into the room. "Come on! I got it!" He called out as he closed the door and rushed over to the microwave.

Natalie and Sam followed, though confusion was written all over their faces. "Got what?" Natalie asked as she and Sam stood in front of the microwave.

Dean opened up the microwave and waited for their reactions. "You two see it?"

Sam and Natalie peer into the microwave though they saw nothing. "See what?" Sam asked, glancing over at Dean.

"See what?" Dean questioned. "See the blood. See all the blechh." He said motioning to where all the blood was.

Sam looked over at Natalie, who slowly shook her head. "Sorry, Dean. I don't see anything."

"Me either." Sam added.

Dean gave them both an incredulous look. "You don't see the ick?! It's right there."

"Okay, let's go with you see it and we don't. What the hell was it?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed and closed the microwave door then wiped his hand on the towel. "It was a, a little...naked lady, okay?"

"A what?" Both Natalie and Sam asked.

Dean hesitated for a moment. "It was a-it was a little, glowing, hot naked lady. With nipples." Natalie furrowed her brows. "And she hit me."

Pursing her lips, Natalie could tell that Dean had seen something and for whatever reason, her and Sam were unable to see what he was talking about.

"I'm not supposed to laugh right?" Sam asked finally.

Dean gave Sam a hardened look. "Right, okay." Sam said quickly and walked over to his laptop sitting on the kitchen table. "Um. So, shot in the dark here, but did this little lady have wings?"

Dean looked over at Sam, surprised. "What the hell made you say that?"

"She did, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but how did you-"

"One of the fringier theories I came across." Sam said as he opened up his laptop and began typing. "It's actually what crazy crystal lady was yammering about."

Natalie and Dean took a seat at the table.

"What if these abductions have nothing to do with UFOs?" Sam said.

"Wait, what?" Dean asked.

"Okay, say these encounters have been going on for centuries, not with extraterrestrials but with ultra-terrestrials."

Natalie mulled over Sam's words for a few moments. "Wait. Glowing ladies with wings...are you saying that these things are-"

Sam turned around his laptop with an article about fairies. Natalie's face lightened and she let out a small laugh. "No way."

"Smurfs?" Dean questioned.

"Fairies." Sam corrected.

"Fairies? Come on."

"Dean there's a straight line between ET's and fairies. Glowing lights, abductions. It's all the same UFO stuff, just under a different skins."

Dean shook his head. "You seriously think that the secret with UFO's is-"

"Hey, you're the one who pizza rolled Tinkerbell. I'm just doing the math. But this is good. This is a lead."

Natalie stared at Sam for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What kind of lead are you thinking of?"

* * *

><p>Marion poured tea into the tiny cups that were set in front of Sam, Dean and Natalie. "Fairies. Sprites and spriggens. Bogarts and brownies. The little people have many names."<p>

"Well, that's, uh, that's her." Dean said pointing towards a small figurine. "Anyway, I, uh, I get that tinkerbells are fairies, but what about the tiny Santa Claus and the troll and the-"

"That's a garden gnome, and that's a large goblin, and-"

"But they're all fairies?" Dean interrupted.

"Yes." Marion answered.

"And here I just thought fairies were meant to be just small glowing people with wings." Natalie added.

"Faery comes in many shapes and sizes. Magical, mischievous beings from the realm next door." Marion adds on.

"The fairy realm." Dean said.

"Mm-hm."

"So it's technically like another dimension?" Sam asked.

"Another reality. Yes. Only people who have been there and returned to our world can see the Faery here."

"Right, um." Dean clears his throat. "Why are the fairies abducting people?"

"There is much theory and little fact. We know they only take firstborn sons, just like Rumplestiltskin did. Personally, I think they're taken to Avalon to service Oberon, The King of the Faery."

Sam made a face and looked over at Dean. "Dean? Did you service Oberon, King of the Fairies?"

Natalie had to purse her lips together to keep herself from laughing, though Dean gave Sam an unamused look.

"Marion. Um, let's say fairies are real, okay? What can we do about them?" Dean asked.

"Sorry?"

"How can we..." Dean tried to find a way to better explain himself.

"Interact with them."

"Yes, yes. Forcefully interact." Dean clarified.

"Well, if you want to win a faery's favor, leave a bowl of fresh cream. They love cream."

"Okay. And, and, more forcefully?" Dean asked.

"All faery hate iron, and the dark Faery burn when touched with silver. What else. Oh! You can spill sugar or salt in front of them. No matter how powerful, the Faery must stoop to count each grain."

Dean nodded. "Well, thank. That's a lot to absorb. Thank you."

The three of them stood up from their chairs, ready to get out of there as quick as possible. "Oh! Stay please!" Marion stopped them. "Finish your tea."

They looked at each other before slowly sitting back down in their seats. Dean took another gaze around her place. "I gotta say, I, love the feel. It's uh..."

"It's like Sedona, Arizona, crapped in here." Sam finished for him.

Natalie snorted as she picked up her teacup, trying to take a drink from it.

"It's cute-a-riffic! Is what it is." Dean said, hoping to cover up what Sam said.

Natalie began to drink her tea, barely holding in another snort. Setting the cup down she smirked. "Cute-a-riffic." Dean quickly nudged her in the side.

Sam drank his tea and upon finishing it he stared at the tiny cup and then looked back up at Marion. "Do you have bigger cups?"

...

As they began to make their way back over to the Impala, Dean shook his arms. "God, is it on me? I feel like I've got the crazy on me."

"No." Sam said taking a look at Dean. "But, you did sit in some glitter though."

Natalie looked at Dean, spotting the glitter Sam was talking about. "I think it suits you very well Dean."

Dean quickly began to wipe away at the glitter. "It doesn't suit me at all. I'll tell you one thing, this makes me want to believe in UFO's again."

"Doesn't really give us the next move, I grant you that. We can always put a call out to Bobby." Sam said.

Upon reaching the Impala, Natalie looked across the street and saw Mr. Brennan walking down the sidewalk with a flat of cream. She quickly tapped Dean's arm and motioned over to Mr. Brennan.

Dean looked over to where Natalie was motioning seeing the same thing. "Hey. I'll be damned. Isn't that the watch guy?"

Sam saw the flat of cream in his arms. "Well, they do love cream."

"Mr. Brennan and a flat of cream. I'm thinking he is our guy." Natalie spoke up already sliding into the backseat.

….

The three of them watch from the Impala as Mr. Brennan walking into a store with the cream. "All right. Well you stick with half and half. Nad and I are going to check his store. Oh! And Sam, no hippie chicks."

Sam rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the car and followed Mr. Brennan's last steps.

Dean and Natalie both got out of the car and made their way over to the back door of Mr. Brennan's watch shop. He quickly pulled out the lock picks and quickly got the door open.

Natalie and Dean quietly snuck into the building and find themselves at the end of a main hallway. They crept down the hallway keeping their eyes peeled, incase Mr. Brennan were to walk in at any moment.

Coming to the door that led to the actual shop, Dean carefully opened the door and they both snuck inside, taking coverage behind the wall. They both peered out from the wall, though Natalie couldn't see anything, looking up at Dean she saw his eyes widen.

"You see them don't you?" Natalie whispered.

Dean nodded and then gently pushed Natalie back. "Let's get out of here."

Once they made it out of the shop, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed out Sam's number.

_"Yeah?"_

"This place man. It's just full of freaking keeblers." Dean spoke into the phone as he and Natalie began walking down the sidewalk.

_"What?"_

"It's like the story with the shoe guy and all the elves. Hey, you think Brennan made a deal with a bunch of fairies?"

_"Let me get back to you." _Sam said before hanging up the phone.

Natalie looked over at Dean as he put away his phone. "We heading back to where Sam is."

"Might as well." Dean said.

The two of them continued their walk though Dean had become very wary not even half way into the walk. Natalie looked over at Dean, just in time to see him peering over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Natalie asked.

Dean takes a hold of Natalie's arm and speeds up his pace, prompting Natalie to do so. When they came to an alleyway he quickly pushed them both out of sight. "Just wait here." Dean said.

After a brief moment, Dean suddenly lunged out of the alleyway and tackles down a person. Natalie's eyes widened and she walked out from the alleyway and saw what was actually happening. He was attacking a little person. "Oh my god."

"What do you want, you fairy? Huh? Little Fairy!" Dean called out as he continued his attack.

"Help!" The little person began to call out.

"Dean! Dean, stop!" Natalie called out as she made her way over to Dean.

"Daddy!" A little girl cried out at the sight of her father being beaten.

Dean stopped and looked up at the little girl then back down to see that it was not a fairy, but a little person. "Oh god no. I'm just kidding!" Dean said, moving away from the man.

Natalie saw a cop beginning to make his way over to Dean and she quickly approached him. "Wait officer, this was just a mistake."

"Please step back." The cop said as he gently pushed Natalie back towards the crowd that had formed. Then turned his attention back to Dean and handcuffed him just as another cop car pulled up.

Natalie let out a deep sigh. "This is just great."

"Dean! Hey!" Natalie turned to see Sam and Brennan making their way towards her.

Dean looked back at Sam and Natalie as he was being led to the cop car. "Sam!"

Sam raised his arms up. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Fight the fairies!" Dean called out as he was pushed into the cop car. "You fight those fairies. Fight the fairies!"

Sam and Natalie watch as the cop car drove off and he turned to her. "What happened?"

Natalie half shrugged. "I don't know. He was acting like someone was following us. And then the next thing I know he's beating on this little person. So, what now?"

Sam looked around as the crowd began to disperse. "We go back to Brennan's shop to stop all of this."

"You have a plan on how we're going to do this?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah. I'll tell you on the way there."

* * *

><p>Brennan, Sam and Natalie walked into his shop as Sam and Natalie looked around. "Are they here?" Sam asked, talking about the fairies.<p>

"Yeah, but it's all right. Greenhats like tequila." Brennan said as he sneaks over to his safe and pulls out a spell book.

As Brennan began to chant a spell a man in a red ball cap appeared behind him and stabbed him in the back. Natalie's eyes narrowed in recognition.

"You! You're the leprechaun?" Sam questioned.

Wayne gave them both a shrug. "Indeed I am. Sorry about the mess, but your friend here went back on his deal."

"Well, you weren't very clear with him on the terms." Sam reminded him.

"I told him there was a price. Once we come, we come to stay." Wayne explained.

"So you take firstborns and then what do you do with them?" Sam asked.

"Let me guess." Natalie interrupted. "All of these abductions, they get covered up with all of this UFO crap, which by the way, is something that you helped reinforce."

"Nice con." Sam added. "But, it's all over Wayne."

"Over? Why should it be? Brennan is dead. Your brother? He's marked. Been to the ranch. He's ours."

"Yeah. Well. There is the two of us." Sam said.

"You can only see me if I let you." Wayne said only to disappear.

Sam and Natalie looked around the room. "True, but you'll have to get near us eventually, and I have really good reflexes."

Wayne appeared behind them and they both turned to him. "You're not like the rest of them, are you?"

Sam gave him a small smile. "Nope."

"I could see that right off. You're missing a certain piece, right in the center, ain't you?"

"Says who?" Sam questioned.

"We fairy folk? We're all about energy. And the human soul gives off a certain perfume."

Natalie made a face. "Well that sounds really nice."

Wayne smirked and pointed at Sam. "Your soul is far away. But not completely out of reach."

Sam gave him a tilt of the head. "Is that so?"

"Sam, I can get it back for you. For a price."

"That's adorable." Sam answered with a laugh. "It's locked in a box with the devil."

"Your devil. Not mine."

"You're just talking crap." Natalie finally spoke up. "There is no way a leprechaun can do anything like that."

"I'm talking about real magic, you guys. From my side of the fence. Got a way of getting in back doors."

"So you're my blue fairy? You can make me a real boy again?" Sam asked, though there was a small mocking tone to his voice.

"When you wish upon a star." Wayne replied.

Sam pulled out his gun. "I got a wish then." He said as he fired a shot into Wayne's chest.

"Iron! Painful, but not a deal breaker."

Sam aimed his gun again and shoots another around into Wayne only to have him disappear. Wayne appeared closer to both of them and threw a punch to Sam's face and kicked him, sending him across the room.

Natalie pulled out Ruby's knife and stabbed it into the back of Wayne's right shoulder. Though it didn't have the desired effect on him. Wayne grabbed hold of the knife and tossed it across the room then punched Natalie across the face several times. He then grabbed her jacket and threw her to the other side of the room.

When her body made contact with the ground she rolled onto her side, letting out a couch as she began to taste blood in her mouth. Wayne walked over to Natalie, putting in a few kicks to Natalie's stomach. Natalie curled up, her arm cradling her stomach, prompting Wayne to turn his attention towards Sam.

Natalie slowly pushed herself up to her knees and began to shake her head. "No. Demons, Angels, Werewolves, I can handle. But I am not about to get my ass kicked by a damn leprechaun." She seethed to herself.

She sat her back to the wall and pulled out a small pouch. "Hey Wayne!" Wayne stopped and turned to her. "I need you to count this for me." She opened the pouch and poured out the salt on the ground.

Wayne's face fell as he dropped to his knees. "Oh no." He said as he began to count the grains of salt.

Sam quickly makes his way over to the spell book and began to finish the chant that Brennan had started. Natalie watched as Wayne continued to count the salt though she could tell that the spell was working.

Looking around, Natalie could see the other fairies on the tables and they slowly disappeared. Focusing her attention back on Wayne, she was able to see him one last time before he to disappeared.

The room went still and Natalie and Sam looked at each other. Sam slowly walked over to Natalie, cringing slightly at a small pain in his side. He took a hold of Natalie's arms and hoisted her back up on her feet.

"Good job, Sam." Natalie said as she wiped the blood from her mouth.

* * *

><p>Natalie was leaning against the trunk of the Impala with Sam next to her. Dean walked over to them handing them both beers. Natalie immediately placed the cold bottle to her cheek which was just beginning to bruise from Wayne having good time punching her.<p>

"It will help the bruising and swelling." Dean said.

"Yeah. Great." Natalie mumbled.

Dean smirked as he opened his beer. "Well. Here's to the tiniest DA. At least they're dropping the charges."

"Little big man." Sam commented.

"You got lucky on that Dean." Natalie said, pulling the bottle away from her cheek and popping the bottle open.

Dean laughed. "You know, I was wondering something."

Sam looked over at Dean. "What?"

"You think Lucky Charms really could have, you know, soul to sender?"

"Come on." Sam scoffed. "It's crazy to think. He did talk a good game though."

"You said no. Why?" Dean questioned.

Sam shrugged as he took a drink. "It was a deal. When's a deal ever been a good thing?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how it works in there." Dean replied.

Sam let out a laugh. "I still have my brain cells. If anything, my brain works better now."

"Just making sure that's where you head's at. That you're not having second thoughts about getting your soul back." Dean clarified.

Natalie looked over at Sam when he didn't respond and she continued to stare at him. "Are you, Sam? Are you starting to think against it?"

Sam looked over at Natalie and shook his head. "No."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it?! I am currently working on the next chapter so I am hoping to get it up either tomorrow or Sunday. Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Yay! I was able to finish this chapter before the weekend ended. Two updates in a single weekend. HA! I am so happy about it! Anyways lets get on with the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Dean walked into the abandoned house and tossed his keys onto the table, sighing in frustration. "I'll tell you one thing." He said turning to Natalie and Sam, who were just walking in. "I'm getting sick and tired of doing these runs for Crowley. I'm just about to say screw it. I'm done."<p>

Sam closed the door and casted Dean a look as he stood next to Natalie. "Just calm down Dean."

"These runs are getting us nowhere. We hunt down the damn creature Crowley wants and then we never get to see him." Dean sheds off his jacket and tosses it onto one of the chairs.

Natalie sighed tiredly. "Dean, I know you're frustrated, but Crowley is the only link we have to getting Sam's soul back."

Turning around, he looked over at Natalie. "We have not progressed any further with getting Crowley to yank his soul out. I mean the only change is now I need a daily rape shower."

"Okay, you're right. Let's go with Plan B." Dean and Natalie looked over at Sam. "Oh yeah, we don't have one." Sam mocked. "So till we do, sorry Dean, stock up on soap on a rope. Dean, if you wanna get my soul back, that's what we gotta do, okay?"

Natalie gave Dean a hesitant shrug. "I agree with Sam on this. It's our only chance. We have to just suck it up and do what Crowley needs us to do."

Dean slowly nodded and then glanced over at Sam. "Do you even want it back?"

Sam's face hardened. "I'm working for Crowley, aren't I?"

Dean shrugged before turning towards the fire mantle and pours himself a drink. "Yeah, well, who says he's gonna hold up his end, you now? It is Crowley. You ever think about that?"

Natalie went to say something when a hand covered her mouth and she was soon being dragged out of the room. Her eyes looked wildly around her in an attempt to see her attacker, but all she saw was Sam to the left of her, who was already unconscious, being dragged also. Natalie began to struggle in the attacker's hold when a force came down upon her head and everything went black.

"Right?" Dean asked once again, but when he turned around, he found that Natalie and Sam were gone. "Sam? Nad?" Dean called out, only to receive no answer.

The silence made him feel wary and he slowly drew out his gun, already making his way over towards the adjacent room. Seeing neither Sam or Natalie, Dean continued on until he came to an entryway to another room.

Peering in, he saw Natalie and Sam lying on the ground, unconscious. Dean lowered his gun slightly as he began to walk towards them. A sudden force against his back knocked him to the ground and he quickly lost conscious.

* * *

><p>Dean, Sam and Natalie slowly woke up only to find that they were tied up to chairs. Dean strained in the ropes that had tied him to the chair and he looked up at Sam and Natalie.<p>

"What now?" He asked.

Sam looked up and his expression fell. "I think I know who you can ask."

Natalie followed Sam's gaze to find someone she had not expected to see. "Oh crap,"

Dean looked to the side and only had to see the outline of the person to make him groan. "Evil bitch."

Meg placed her hand on Dean's shoulder and leaned down to him. "Keep sweet talking me, this could go a whole new direction." She walked around and stood in front of Dean.

"Meg. I've been dying to see you again." Dean said.

"Well, here I am, big boy." She finished with a smile. "So, what should we do now?"

"How about I rip you to shreds?"

Meg made a face and hummed. "Kinky, I like. A little Q&A first, if you don't mind. Now, where's your boss?"

"You think we work for somebody?" Sam asked.

"I happen to know for a fact you've been juggling Crowley's orphans. Now where is he?" Meg asked again.

Sam offered her a smirk. "Don't know. Don't care."

"You've been working his beat for months." Meg reminded.

"Doesn't mean we get face time." Sam answered.

Meg nodded, not to pleased with Sam's answers. Turning to Dean, she quickly straddles his lap. "Where does he take all those things you snatch up for him? I bet you an all-day sucker that's where his majesty's holed up."

Meg waited for Dean to answer, but she only received a snarky look from him. "Okay." She quickly pulls out a knife and holds it to his throat. "Foreplay is over. Satisfy, me or I please myself."

Meg's threat was only met by an amused laugh that came from Sam, which made Dean and Natalie look at him, confused at his reaction.

"Something funny, Sam?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah." Sam said with a smirk. "Meg."

Natalie looked from Meg then back to Sam. "Oh yeah. She looks freaking hilarious."

"Don't worry she can't do jack squat. She's totally screwed."

Dean's eyes widened. "Not helping Sam."

"Look at her." Sam said, motioning to Meg. "She's furious. If she could kill you, she would have done it by now. She's running."

Meg looked back at Sam. "Am I?"

"Judging by the level of flop sweat on all of you, yeah. Which means you're running from Crowley. Which makes sense. Crowley would want to hunt down all the Lucifer loyalists now that he's the big man on campus."

Meg tilted her head to the side. "How would you know?"

"It's what I'd do." Sam looked passed Meg back at Dean. "She can't kill us. She needs us to get her to Crowley so she can stick that knife in his neck. It's him or her."

Dean and Natalie both smirk in amusement. "Well, I hope you both lose. But good luck." Dean said.

"So you know what you gotta do now, right?" Sam added.

Meg gave him a forced smile. "Let me guess, you're gonna tell me."

"Work with us." Sam answered.

Natalie blinked a couple of times. "Wait, what?"

"We'll hand you Crowley with a bow. On one condition: we come with you and you help us wring a little something out of him before you hack him to bits."

"Sam you have got to be kidding." Natalie said.

"What is it you are wanting?" Meg inquired.

"Now that doesn't matter. Question is, can you get us what we need?" Sam asked.

Meg thought over Sam's proposal and looked over at Dean. "Dean, can I really make Crowley do whatever I want?"

Dean hesitated, not seeing any other way out of Sam's plan, whatever it was he was thinking. "Yeah, you can." He answered looking up at her.

"It's a deal then. Hugs and puppies all around!" Meg happily called out. She looked back at her group and motions for them to leave.

"You gonna untie us?" Dean was quick to question.

Meg look down at him and smirked. "Don't pretend you don't enjoy it."

One of the demons walked over and stopped next to Dean, his eyes staring down at him.

"You gonna kiss me?" Dean asked.

"Come on." Meg said, allowing them to leave the house.

Dean let out a scoff. "Now what?"

Natalie moved her hand towards her right back pocket, knowing that there was a pocketknife that she always kept there.

Dean looked over at Natalie, seeing that she was making various expressions with her face and not to mention she was moving around a lot. "Nad, what are you doing?"

Natalie bit down on her lip as her hand finally reached the pocket. "I'm trying to get..." As her fingers brushed over the area it was soon discovered that her knife was no longer there. Her expression immediately fell and she hung her head back.

"Damn demons took my knife away." Natalie muttered.

"You mean that one over there." Dean answered motioning his head towards the table at the end of the room.

Natalie narrowed her eyes finally focusing on her pocketknife resting on the table. "Yeah. That's it." Groaning with frustration, Natalie settled herself against her seat.

The three of them sat in silence, wondering when Meg was going to allow them to get untied. Dean tapped his foot and pursed his lips before looking up at Sam and Natalie.

"So." Natalie and Sam looked over at him. Dean shrugged and gave them a smirk. "Who wants to play 20 questions?"

* * *

><p>Sam, Dean and Natalie walked back into the main room. After a very tense twenty minutes, of trying to get over to the table, Natalie was able to scoot herself over to where her knife was. Despite the fact, that she was tied to a chair. If anything, the whole act was uncomfortable on her part, but Dean found it rather amusing. It's surely something that she never wants to hear Dean mention again, but knowing him, that wasn't going to happen.<p>

"What exactly are you doing?" Dean finally asked.

Sam picked up his coat giving Dean a look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what the hell are you doing?" Dean asked again.

"Dean, you wanted to screw over Crowley. Well Merry Christmas." Sam commented.

"You wanna work with a demon again?" Dean asked.

"We're working with demons now. I'm doing this because I wanna stop." Sam assured him.

Natalie shook her head. "Sam, in case you forgot. She got Jo and Ellen killed!"

"We can't be looking at this emotionally, Nad. We need her."

"The hell we do!" Dean called out. "That little bitch is gonna screw us over so fast-"

"Of course. Which is why we'll screw her first." Sam added. "Meg and her little posse are dead the second we're done with them."

Dean was less than optimistic and scoffed. "Yeah, if they don't kill us."

"They won't." Sam said. "Because we're bringing insurance."

Natalie narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about? What insurance?"

"Cas." Sam answered.

"Yeah, right." Dean said. "Only if he will answer you. He's so caught up with everything going on in Heaven.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna make sure that he answers." Sam said.

Dean shrugged. "Well, if you manage to get his little feather butt down here I will be surprised."

Natalie resulted to sitting in one of the chairs and looked up, able to glance Sam leaving the room and exiting the house, to try and get Castiel to help them.

"You think Sam's plan is even going to work? I mean working with Meg..." Natalie spoke finally.

"I don't trust Meg. But...Sam seems hell bent on going down this way so, I guess that's what we're going to do." Dean walked over to another chair that was across from Natalie and sat down.

"Well, all I can say is that I hope it works." Natalie said. "Because I am tired of running errand after errand for Crowley. And you're right. It's not getting us anywhere. It's just this never ending circle."

Dean only merely nodded. "I know." Dean watched as Natalie pulled out her phone and was seemingly scrolling through messages. "Is that Clara?"

Natalie nodded silently. "Yeah, uh, she's been keeping me up to date with what's going with...Elais." Natalie hesitated towards the end, not really sure if it would be a good idea to mention it.

Dean nodded. "So, what have they found?"

"Nothing much. Just been trying to find the guy he should be possessing. All they are coming up with are dead ends." Natalie answered finally turning off the phone and placing it in her lap.

"You really think that Crowley will be able to pull Sam's soul out of hell?" Natalie asked, this particular thought had been nagging her in the back of her mind.

"It's the only thing we got. Might as well try and roll with it." Dean answered.

"And...what if he can't?" Natalie hesitantly added.

Dean didn't know how to answer that, because it was something that he had thought about multiple times. It wasn't exactly the one thing he wanted to think about, but he couldn't help it. What were they supposed to do if they couldn't get Sam's soul? At least, what if they couldn't get it from Crowley?

His thoughts were interrupted as Sam and Castiel walked back into the house, causing Dean to turn and look at them. His brows raised in surprise. "Wow, you actually showed. Sam, I owe you a chicken dinner." Dean stood from the chair. "So, what changed your mind?"

Castiel seemed hesitant as he looked quickly at Sam. "No big." Sam answered. "This is what friends do for each other."

Castiel slowly nodded. "Yes. It's what friends do."

Natalie could see the tension that was going on between Sam and Castiel, which hinted to her that something probably happened when Sam called for him. Either way, no matter how curious she was about it, she was just glad that Castiel was here now.

Without wasting time, the four of them began to gather the supplies they needed for Castiel to perform a ritual. A ritual that was to tell them where Crowley was hiding. Natalie, Dean and Sam both stood by as Castiel's ritual came to an end though nothing happened.

"It's not working." Castiel finally answered. "Crowley's hidden from me. The spell is useless."

Dean hummed in disapproval. "Well, looks like we're gonna have to try this the hard way. We gotta go and ask Samuel."

Natalie gave Dean a look. "You really think he is going to tell you where Crowley is? After the fact that he lied to both of you."

Dean gave Natalie a shrug. "We don't have any other option."

* * *

><p>Dean, Sam and Castiel had gone over to see Samuel, though Natalie chose to stay behind. She wasn't really in the mood to see Samuel again and also, it gave her a chance to talk with Marina. It was her time to just relax and not have to worry about what was going on. Marina would always try her best, through the phone calls, to lighten up Natalie's mood which would work most of the time.<p>

It wasn't long before Dean, Castiel and Sam returned from their trip to Samuel's and Natalie felt like they had only been gone a few minutes, though it was longer. And it didn't take long for Natalie to notice that Dean was heated. It didn't take a genius to know that this particular plan didn't go accordingly.

Dean released all of the information to Natalie in a kind of quick succession. Not going into to much detail, but telling her what was necessary. Samuel was working with Crowley because he said that he was going to bring back Mary, Dean and Sam's mother. If anything, Natalie was confused by what Dean had told her. Samuel was a hunter. Shouldn't he know that anything dead should stay dead. Samuel should know that nothing good could come out of bringing his daughter back.

Since this didn't work, the four of them decided to try and figure out where Crowley was in their own way. Sam, Natalie and Dean were seated at the table, various papers and maps were sprawled out in front of them, while Castiel was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"It's very complex." Castiel's voice pierced the silence that had filled the room.

"Mm-hmm." Dean responded though the three of them were still engrossed in their search.

"If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear?" Natalie paused her reading and looked up at Castiel. "Perhaps she's done something wrong."

Raising a brow, Natalie looked over at Dean and Sam then mouthed 'Is he watching porn?'.

Dean cleared his throat and looked back over at Castiel. "Are...are you watching porn?"

Castiel gave Dean a quick look that was his way of saying 'yes'.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"It was there."

"You don't watch porn in a room full of people. And you don't...talk about it. Just turn it off Cas." Dean said.

Castiel paused his watching as his head slowly hung and his eyes looked down in his lap.

"Oh great, now he's got a boner." Dean said.

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head, a few of her laughs managed to get out.

A knock at the door halted the moment and Dean slowly stood from the table and walked over to the door. Upon opening it, Samuel walked in and furrowed his brows at what Castiel was watching.

"This what you three do, sit around watching pornos with angels?" Samuel asked.

"We're not supposed to talk about it." Castiel commented, still engrossed on the television. Natalie stood from the chair and walked over to the TV, then turned it off.

"Why are you here, Samuel?" Dean finally asked.

"It's what Mary would want. Now, this is what I know." Samuel turned around and walked over to the table, then pulled out a map. Natalie quickly cleared a space on the table for him. "Whatever we bag ends up there." Samuel said, pointing to a location. "That's were he tortures them, interrogates, I really don't know. Only been outside the places, but it's a death trap. Nothing gets in that Crowley doesn't want in and nothing gets out, period."

Dean scanned over the map and nodded. "Well, thanks."

Samuel let out a sigh and shook his head. "I wish you wouldn't do this."

"Then come with us." Sam suddenly added.

"I may be soft, but I'm not suicidal." Samuel commented and looked up at the three of them. "Good luck. You're gonna need it.

….

Natalie and Dean were in the house, already gathering all of their things so they could make the trip out to visit Crowley. They had already told Meg and her companions that they knew where Crowley and now Natalie just wanted to get this trip done.

"You know, Cas, you could help." Dean said after glancing over at Castiel who was leaning against a table.

"I'm ambivalent about what we're attempting." Castiel said.

"Well, breaking into monster Gitmo is not exactly a two-for-one in the champagne room." Dean replied.

"No. I'm not sure retrieving Sam's soul is wise."

Dean and Natalie both stop and turn to look at him. "Wait, what? Why?" Dean asked.

"I want him to survive."

"Cas, what are you talking about?" Natalie asked.

Castiel turned to both of them. "Sam's soul has been locked in the cage with Michael and Lucifer for more than a year. And they have nothing to do but take their frustrations out on him. You both understand? If we try to force that mutilated thing down Sam's gullet, we have no idea what will happen. It could be catastrophic."

"Wait, so you're saying that he will die." Natalie said.

"No, I'm saying he doesn't." Natalie gave Castiel a confused look. "Paralysis. Insanity. Psychic pain so profound that he's locked inside himself for the rest of his life."

"But you're saying you don't know anything for sure. I mean, he could be fine." Dean said in an attempt to try and ease this tension.

Castiel gave a small nod. "He could be, yes."

Dean shrugged. "Okay then."

"But I sincerely doubt it." Castiel added.

"Well, if he's not fine, then you fix him." Dean demanded.

"Dean, I wouldn't know where to even begin."

"Then you figure it out, Cas. Come on." Dean set down the bag and walked over to him. "I mean, the guy's a damn replicate. He needs his soul." Dean ran his hands down his face. "Look, we get it back. And if there are complications, then we will figure out a way to deal with those, too."

Castiel nodded at Dean's words. "Of course."

Dean turns back around and walks over to Natalie, returning to his packing. "Or we fail, and Sam suffers horrifically."

Natalie let out a heavy breath and bit down on her lip. She looked over at Dean and he could see the doubt written on her face. Castiel knew what he was talking about and it would be stupid if they didn't take his words into consideration.

Seeing the look on her face, Dean knew that she was now hesitant about going through with getting Sam's soul. He answered her look with a few vigorous head shakes. "He's going to be fine. He'll be fine."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it?! Don't forget to leave a review! Xx<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: So I have some news regarding my supernatural stories. Starting NEXT chapter, there will be a small hint to a plotline about Natalie, that will be slowly carried out during the remaining of this story and into the next. Over the past few weeks, I have been coming up with ideas for potential plotlines in the future stories and I have FINALLY decided on a story arch for Natalie. _

_Regarding the whole demon story, yes, that is a storyline for Natalie but I think of it as a plotline something that involves her family. This new plotline will focus solely on Natalie and it will effect her relationship with Dean and especially Sam. I guess you could view it almost like a 'destiny' kind of thing, but not really, more on the lines of 'fate' I guess is the right way (sorry if I confused you). I am so excited to start writing down the hints and the storyline won't come into full effect until the next story (season 7). That was just a little thing that I wanted to share with you all! _

_Also on a related note, I would love your inputs on something. If you all would please go to my profile and vote on the poll I have posted there It would mean the world to me. So please, please go and check it out!_

_Let's get on with the story!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>"It all seems a little to easy. What do you two think?" Dean's voice pierced through the silent hallway.<p>

Natalie gave a small curt nod. "Yeah."

"It was a little to easy." Sam commented.

With Castiel, Meg and the others following them, they continued on down through the dingy hallway. Passing by what looked like cells rooms, out of the corner of their eyes, they could see various creatures. Prisoners that were now under Crowley's eye.

After wandering confusingly through the cell hall, the group found themselves entering what looked like a 'normal' hallway. It took on the appearance of a hospital wing of sorts. Regardless of what the hallway looked like, they felt like they were on the right path.

"Wait." Castiel suddenly spoke up.

Dean, Natalie and Sam paused, turning to look at him. "What is it, Cas?" Dean asked.

In the distance, Natalie thought she heard what sounded like a howl. As she focused her hearing on the noise, it started to become more clear. "Dean."

Dean looked over at Natalie, seeing the tense and pensive look on her face, but soon he caught onto the howls as well, though this time, they were getting closer. "Hellhounds. Go! Run!"

They all turned and quickly ran down the hallway, hearing the growls getting closer, they sped up their paces. Turning the hall corner, they spotted a set of doors and quickly made their way past them.

Even though two of the demons were still trying to make their way past the doors, Sam, Dean and Natalie slammed the door shut, and leaned their bodies against it, trying to keep the hellhounds from getting through. Natalie cringed at the screams and growls she heard from the other side of the doors.

"I knew this was a trap." Dean said, making sure to keep an even force against the door.

Meg gave Dean a snarky look. "Oh, what do you want, a cupcake?"

Natalie groaned as the door gave way a little, causing her to turn and press her side against it. "Now is really not the time for..." Natalie paused as the door almost gave way again. "No time for sarcasm!"

Sam pushed himself away from the door and quickly searched the area for something that they could wedge the door with. Spotting a piece of wood, he picked it up and made his way over to the door, motioning for Natalie to move away from the handles. After doing so, Sam slid the piece of wood through the handles as Dean poured out a salt line at the base of the door.

Stepping back from the door, Sam turned to the rest of them. "That should keep them out."

"For now." Natalie stepped away from the door, her eyes never leaving it.

"How many of them are there?" Dean turned to look at Meg.

"Lots. I'll be pulling for you...from Cleveland." Meg responded.

"Wait, what?"

"I didn't know this was gonna happen. Bright side: them chewing up my meat suit ought to buy you a few seconds."

Natalie turned to look at Meg, her glare hardening. "You're not gonna..."

"Seacrest out." Meg opens her mouth, trying to vacate her body, though she is unable to escape. Meg closes her mouth and her expression turned to confusion.

"A spell, I think, from Crowley. Within these walls you're locked inside your body." Castiel added.

Natalie gave Meg a small smirk. "Ain't that just a real bitch."

"Okay, new plan." Sam pulled out Ruby's knife from his bag.

Dean gave Sam a bewildered look. "What are you doing? You gonna slash at thin air until you hit something?"

"You can see them." Sam said, looking at Meg, ignoring Dean's question. "Take this. Hold them off. It's our best shot."

Meg eyed the knife for a small moment. "At Crowley. Take it and kill the smarmy dick. I'll hold off the dogs."

Dean shifted his attention to Meg now. "How are you gonna do that?"

Meg gave a small smile as she turned to Castiel. Her hand wrapped around his neck allowing her to pull him closer to her, their lips locking together.

Natalie, Sam and Dean both tilted their heads slightly at the scene and as Castiel pushed Meg up against the wall, kissing her again, Natalie's eyes widened, pursing her lips she rubbed the back of her neck.

"What was that?" Meg asked once Castiel pulled away.

"I learned that from the pizza man."

Natalie felt her expression lighten as she tried to force the smile away that had slowly appeared due to Castiel's words.

"Well, A plus for you. I feel so...clean." Meg twirled the angel blade around in her hand. "Okay, you three gotta go."

"Is that even gonna work on a hellhound?" Dean motioned at the blade.

"Well, we're about to find out." The doors began to shake as the hellhounds tried to burst their way through. "Run!"

The four of them gave one last look at the door before quickly running down the hallway. Dean spotted a set of doors at the end of the hallway and sped up his pace in order to get it open for everyone to get through. Once everyone was through, Dean quickly shut the door and pushed the lock in place, which took a little bit of effort since it had been rusted to a good amount.

The four of them were faced with a very, very, dimly lit staircase that would lead them down to god only knows where. Natalie let out a shaky sigh. "Doesn't that look welcoming."

"Yeah. Let's just settle on in here." Dean replied sarcastically, walking past Natalie to go down the stairs, he received a small nudge from her.

Their inference was that the hallway was barely lit at all, as they continued on down the staircase it didn't get any better. In fact, all four of them thought that the visibility had gotten worse. How they had managed to get down the stairs with just the use of the light from their cell phones, which wasn't much, surprised them.

"God you can't see jack in this place." Dean said as they finally reached the end of the stairs.

Out of nowhere a blinding light appeared, causing Natalie, Dean and Sam to cover their eyes at the intensity of it. As quick as it came, the light suddenly vanished, and the three hunters looked around their surroundings.

"Where's Cas?" Natalie asked, no longer seeing the angel.

Sam looked around once more when his eyes landed on Samuel and Crowley. "Dean."

Dean and Natalie both looked over, spotting Samuel and Crowley, and Dean's eyes went hard. "You sold us out?"

"Yes. And I have to say, best purchase I've made since Dick Cheney." Crowley answered.

Natalie felt a pair of hands grab onto her arms and looking over at Dean and Sam, she saw the exact same thing.

"Hiya, Crowley. So how's tricks?" Dean asked.

"Way above your pay grade. Been working. Big things. Alas, you'll be too dead to participate. It's a shame really, have to do away with you three. Rather enjoyed your indentured servitude."

Natalie shook her eye, focusing her attention back over to Samuel. "So much for doing what your daughter would have wanted." Samuel slowly turned his attention to Natalie. "Selling out your own family."

"Don't even pretend like you understand. You aren't even a part of this. You're not even family to them." Samuel retorted.

"I'm more of a family to them then you will _ever _be." Natalie bit back as the demons began to escort her and the boys to their cells.

* * *

><p>Natalie walked into the cell, not looking back as the door was slammed shut. Scanning the dump of a room, it really did live up to that. The walls were dirtied with grim and what looked like leftover dried blood. Her gaze shifted to the ground and all over the floor was some kind of substance that she had no idea what it was.<p>

"Sam? Nad?" Dean's voice came through. "I'm standing in pee."

Natalie furrowed her brows slightly as she looked back down at the mess around her, trying to figure out what it was but gave up quickly. Figuring that she actually didn't want to know what she was sharing this cell with.

"Consider yourself lucky." Sam replied.

Cringing in disgust, Natalie stood near the wall where the vile mess wasn't occupying. "I don't even know what I'm standing in. You both are probably lucky."

"Yikes. That sucks." Dean responded.

Natalie let out a huff. "Thanks for your concern Dean."

"You want forgiveness, find a priest."

Natalie's head perked up at the sound of Dean's voice. Obviously he wasn't talking to her or Sam, so it must have been...

"I just want you to understand." The voice confirmed to her that it was Samuel.

"Oh, I understand...that you're a liar. You talk about putting blood first, which is funny because you sound just like my dad. The difference is, he actually did."

"I am putting blood first."

Natalie let out a scoff, loud enough that Samuel could hear it, though she couldn't see that he actually did.

"Oh, give me a break!" Dean called back, not wanting to hear Samuel's excuses.

"Mary is my blood! My daughter. Don't come at me like I sold you out, Dean. You sold out your own mother. It was her or Sam, and you chose Sam, plain and simple."

"Oh that is such crap!" Dean fumed, pointing a figure at Samuel. "You wanna know what really happened? You chose a demon over your own grandsons!"

"See it how you want to." Samuel tiredly relented. "I don't even know what Sam is. And you want me to protect him? And you? You're a stranger. I mean really, tell me. What are you supposed to be to me?"

"I'll tell you who I am. I'm the guy you never wanna see again. Because I'll make it out of here, trust me. And next time you see me, I'll be there to kill you."

"Don't think there's gonna be a next time."

Dean gave Samuel a grim smirk and then a small shrug. "Whatever gets you through the night."

Hearing what sounded like a latch closing, Natalie let out a long sigh, running a hand down her face. "What are we going to do?" Natalie finally asked.

She could hear Dean give a heavy sigh, telling her that he was contemplating a plan. "I'm trying to think of something."

Natalie rested her cheek against her hand. "I'm not gonna rush you. I don't even have a plan myself."

The next few minutes were spent with each of them pacing around in their cells. Trying to come up with a plan, though what could they do from inside a cell? Not much, actually, nothing.

The sound of keys jingling and the door unlocking caught all of their attentions. Each of them thinking it was their door that was being opened. unfortunately, it was Dean's cell that was being gained access to.

Natalie listened as Dean was dragged out of his cell, fighting against them the whole time, though she knew that he wasn't going to get out of it. The cell door closed with a low resonating thud, leaving Natalie and Sam in silence, as Dean's voice retreated into nothing.

"Sam?" Natalie's voiced echoed throughout the room.

"Yeah."

"Okay, now I'm gonna be rushing you. Got a plan yet?"

Natalie was only met with an unsatisfied silence which she pouted at. "Yeah. Hold on." Sam said, allowing her mood to lighten slightly.

While Sam was carrying out his plan, whatever it was, Natalie leaned her back against the wall, praying that Sam's plan will take effect really soon. The longer she stood in this cell, looking at what she was practically standing in, was making her unbelievably sick.

Natalie soon could hear the door to Sam's cell being opened and she stood away from the wall upon hearing Sam and the demons talking. Whatever Sam was planning on doing, it seemed like that was thrown out the window.

Footsteps were soon approaching her door and Natalie stood away from it, thinking that it was one of the demons coming to take her to wherever Dean is. The door opened only to reveal Sam, who was motioning her to come out.

Natalie approached him and walked out. "How the hell did you get out?"

"I told you I had a plan." He answered as they began to walk away from her cell.

"But, how did you do it? What was your plan?" Natalie asked. As they walked past his room, she looked in and saw the two demons were stuck under a devils trap on the ceiling make out of...blood.

Turning to look at Sam, she gave him a look. "How did you manage to get the blood?"

Sam walked over to a table where Ruby's knife was resting on and looked back over at Natalie. "I have my ways. Now let's go."

Natalie casted Sam a skeptical look, still wanting to know how he got the blood, but regardless, they had to find Dean and she didn't want to waste any more time.

They both took off running out of the hallway and turned the corner that greeted them quickly. Not surprisingly, they had no idea where Dean was and this corridor they were in, was full of closed and open doors. He could have been in any of them or he might be in an entirely different part of the building.

"Dean!" Natalie called out as she and Sam began to pace themselves down the hallway, peering into every room that they could.

"Dean!" Sam called out.

_"Let me go, you son of a bitch!" _

Natalie and Sam paused in their search once they heard Dean's voice, then they both began to sprint towards the source of where they had heard him. As they approached where they had heard him, they were greeted by a set of open doors. Stopping at the entrance, they saw Dean being attacked by what looked like a ghoul.

Sam quickly ripped a pipe from the wall and went after the one that was attacking Dean. Natalie noticed the other trying to make a go for Sam and she quickly jumped onto its back, her arms wrapping around its neck.

The ghoul thrashed around, trying to rid of Natalie's hold on her, which almost happened a few times. Her hold on the creature wasn't exactly the strongest and it was going to work against her soon. The ghoul ran backwards, ramming Natalie into the wall and she cursed at the pain in her back. Natalie tightened her hold around the ghoul and reached her other arm out and grabbed a loose pipe from the wall.

When the ghoul moved away from the wall, Natalie released her grip on him and when he turned to face her and she swung the pipe, hitting it on the side of the head. The creature fell to the ground, groaning in pain was the impact. Natalie brought the pipe up one last time and embedded it into the ghoul's skull, creating a sickening crack that resonated in the silence that now surrounded her.

Looking up, she could see the ghoul that Sam had taken care of was now lying in a mess at his feet and Dean was fine. Well, other than being almost killed by ghouls, physically, he was fine.

"What now?" Natalie asked.

"We find Crowley." Dean said, pushing past both Sam and Natalie, leaving the room with both of them following.

* * *

><p>Dean walks over to the alarm and pulled it down. Sam and Natalie were already in their places for their plan. Get Crowley's attention and then question him before Meg had her way with him.<p>

Facing the entrance to the room, Dean waited patiently and just like as planned, Crowley came strolling through the doorway. The look on Crowley's face assured Dean that this wasn't what he expected to find.

"You should be ghoul scat by now." Crowley inquired. Sam quietly walked up behind Crowley and hits him from behind, causing him to fall right into their devils trap. "Really necessary?" Crowley asked. "I just had this dry-cleaned." Looking around him, he finally realized that he was in a trap. "So, to what do I owe the reach-around?"

Dean, Natalie and Sam stand in front of Crowley giving him hardened looks when Meg came walking into the room.

"Crowley." Meg smirked with glee at the sight of Crowley.

"Whore."

Meg's face fell slightly. "Okay, you know what." She closed her hand into a fist, causing Crowley to start coughing up blood. "The best torturers never get their hands dirty." She releases her grip, ceasing his coughing fit. "Sam wants a word with you."

Sucking in a few breaths, Crowley looked up at him. "What can I do for you, Sam?"

"You know damn well. I want me soul back."

Meg gave Sam a truly surprised look. "And here I thought you just grew some balls, Sam."

Sam gave Meg a side glance then returned his focus on Crowley. "Well?"

"No."

Dean nodded at Crowley's words. "Meg?"

Meg closed her fist again, causing Crowley to groan in pain. "I can't." Crowley finally admitted.

"You can't or you won't?" Sam questioned.

"When I said I can't, I meant it you mop-headed lumberjack. I was lucky enough to get this much of you out. Going back in there for the sloppy bits? No way. I'm good, but those two in there? Forget it."

Sam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. But it doesn't change anything. I'm telling you. Sam, who do you want the thing back? Satan's got one juicy source of entertainment in there. I'd swallow a rag off a bathhouse floor before I took that soul. Unless you want to be a drooling mess."

"Sam, I hate to say it, but he's right." Meg said, offering her own opinion.

"Yeah, right. I get it. Thanks. He's all yours." Sam said before turning to leave.

"Whoah, wait are you crazy? He's our only hope." Dean spoke up.

"Dean, you heard him. He can't get it. He's useless."

"He could just be saying that to get himself out of it." Natalie said. "That way he wouldn't have to do us this favor."

"I'm not lying to you." Crowley spoke up, causing Natalie to look at him. "Trust me, getting just him, as he is right now, that was no walk in the park. Going back there is just insane."

"Well, all I am saying is you did it once, surely you can do it again." Natalie said, walking closer to him. "But, you said that if we did your damn errands you would get Sam's soul back. You need to hold up your side of the bargain Crowley."

"And I'm telling you. No." Crowley finished, staring at Natalie.

Natalie turned to Dean and motioned her head to Meg, telling him to giver her Ruby's knife. "Go ahead. Sam's right. He's useless now."

Meg took the knife from Dean. "You'll let me back out, right?" She was answered with a nod from them. Turing back to him, Meg casually walked towards the trap. "This is for Lucifer, you pompous little-"

Crowley knocks Meg to the ground and quickly picks up her knife, creating a break in the devils trap. Before they could do anything, Crowley pinned them up against the walls, then let out a relieved sigh.

"That's better. You all have seriously gone off your game. All to just get a mangled soul out from hell." Crowley walked halfway towards the hunters. "It's not worth it I can tell you that."

"Leave them alone." Castiel's voice appeared, catching them all in a surprised state.

Crowley looked at the angel, releasing his hold on the hunters allowing them to drop to the ground. "Castiel, haven't seen you all season. You the cavalry now?"

"Put the knife down." Castiel commanded.

"You that bossy in Heaven? Hear you're losing out to Raphael. The whole affair makes Vietnam look like a roller derby." Crowley's attention was soon focused on a brown sack that Castiel was carrying. "What's in the gift bag?"

Castiel opened up the sack and pulled out a skull. "You are."

Crowley gawked at the skull in Castiel's hand and shook his head. "That's not possible."

"You didn't hide your bones as well as you should have." Castiel mocked as he scanned over the skull.

Crowley decides to hide his small scene of panic by clapping. "Cookies all around for you."

"Can you restore Sam's soul or not?" Castiel asked.

"If I could help out in any other-"

"Just answer him!" Dean interrupted.

"I can't." Crowley said.

Castiel immediately turned to the brown bag, now resting on the ground, and raised his hand over it. It suddenly caught fire as did Crowley. Natalie's eyes fixed on Crowley's burning body that soon turned to nothing but a charred corpse that slumped to the ground.

* * *

><p>Natalie leaned against the Impala, her head hung back, she was so happy to be out of that place. Stepping outside, breathing in what she felt like clean air and none of that stench she experienced in her cell.<p>

"Thanks, Cas. Hadn't been for you we would most likely be nothing but a mess in that place." Dean said, causing Natalie to lean her head up and look at them.

"Crowley was right, though. It's not going well for me upstairs."

Natalie turned to them, her arm leaning on top of the Impala. "Is there anything we can do Cas? Any way we can help."

Castiel gave Natalie a small smile for her concern, but shook his head. "There isn't. I wish circumstances were different. Much of the time I'd rather be here."

"Look, Cas, we know you got a steaming pile on your plate. You don't need to apologize. We're you're friends." Dean added.

Castiel nodded in gratitude and then looked over at Sam. "Listen, Sam, we'll find another way to get your soul back."

"You really wanna help?" Sam interrupted. "Prison full of monsters. Can't just leave them and we can't let them go."

Castiel nodded at Sam's words. "I understand." With that, he disappeared.

"He's right, you know?" Dean tried to carry on the conversation.

"About what?"

"About your soul. We'll figure something else out."

"No, we won't."

Natalie and Dean both stared at Sam, confused by why he would say this. "Why, because Crowley said-"

"You heard what Crowley said. I heard what Cas said. Putting this thing back in would smash me to bits."

"No, we don't know that for sure Sam." Dean tried to assure him.

"You know what? When angels and demons agree on something, call me nuts, I pay attention."

"You're saying this now? After we practically died trying to-"

"Exactly, Dean!" Sam called out. "We almost got ourselves killed. I mean, how many times do we risk our asses for this? Enough's enough."

"Sam, we are risking our asses so we can help you!" Natalie was the next to speak. "That's what all of this is about. It's all about helping you and getting your soul back."

"Nad, you even heard what Cas said last night. Getting it back can destroy me."

Natalie pursed her lips. "Like Dean said, we don't know what will happen."

"Exactly, I don't want to risk my life experimenting with my hell infected soul. I don't think I want it back."

Natalie gave Sam a confused stare and able to process what he said. "What?"

"You don't even know what you're saying." Dean commented.

"No, I'm saying something you both don't like. You obviously care, a lot. But maybe I'm better off without it."

Natalie began to shake her head vehemently. "No, Sam. You need your soul."

"No. Nad. I'm not to sure about that." Sam gave Dean and Natalie a look before turning around and walking away.

"Sam!" Dean called out, trying to get him to come back. "Sam! Don't walk away. Sam!"

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so how did you all like it?! So next chapter is when Sam gets his soul back but I am not sure whether I am going to make it into one long chapter or split it. Either way, Sam is getting his soul. And Natalie is going to be playing a big part in getting it back *wink, wink* I will try and get that chapter up this weekend but can't make any promises.<strong>

**Anyways, don't forget to check out the poll on my profile! Until next time! Xx**


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Had to split this up into two parts! This one is a little different take on Appointment with Samarra. Which means Natalie is going to be playing a big part in getting Sam's soul back. There is going to be some back and forth in the beginning of this chapter, so I hope not to make it to confusing for you all._

_I dedicate this chapter and the next one to __**Ladysunshine6**_, _who was the one who pitched the idea for this chapter to me. Thank you!_

_Also as a reminder, if you haven't voted in the poll on my profile please do so. Let's get on with the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>"You sure this is the right place?" Jake asked, his eyes scanning the building skeptically.<p>

Natalie pursed her lips, also feeling a little bit doubtful that this was the right address. But, gazing down at the paper she nodded silently. "Yeah, this is the right address. It's what I have down." She said, holding it up for him to see.

Jake gazed at the piece of paper and then sighed. "Looks a little...rough to me. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Natalie stared blankly at the building, Jake's words buzzing around her head. The whole series of events that took place before she arrived here was complicated enough. Bobby, Dean and Natalie had found out about Dr. Robert and what he was able to do. Dean at first, was willing to let himself to go with this experiment, but when Bobby expressed his doubts about it, Natalie went ahead and volunteered herself. That, of course, caused Bobby and Dean to shoot her down immediately. So she took matters into her own hands.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Listen." She said turning to Jake. "Thanks for driving me here. It was a good thing you were close to Bobby's."

Jake let out a snort. "You don't have to thank me Nad. I will tell you one thing...Dean isn't gonna be happy about this. He doesn't know you're here, does he?"

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. She made sure not to tell Dean about where she was going, but, knowing him, she knew that Dean was going to find out where she is. That's why she wanted to get this done quickly.

"That's why I wanna get in and then out." Natalie commented, unbuckling her seat belt she reached down in her bag, making sure that the money was still there.

"You sure you don't want me to stay?" Jake asked.

Natalie picked up her bag and slid one of the handles over her arm. "No. I'm pretty sure by the time I get done he'll know where I am. Thanks anyways Jake."

Jake nodded and Natalie took it as a sign to get out of the car. She waved at Jake, who then slowly drove off.

Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, Natalie slowly approached the building, seeing that it was just a common grocers market and she gave a small cringe. "This ought to be interesting."

Sucking a breath, she walked forward and pushed open the door. The place was empty, except for a few people who were working behind the counter. Turning to the man, who was looking at her, she gave him a hesitant smile.

"Hi, uh. I'm looking for Dr. Robert."

The man pointed down towards the back of the building. "Follow all the way to the back."

Natalie looked to where he was talking about and then pointed down the same way herself only to receive a nod from him. "Thank you."

Taking off towards the back of the room, Natalie first walked through a fairly worn down door and was greeted by a staircase. Eyeing carefully first, Natalie slowly began to ascend the stairs and soon found herself standing in the middle of an apartment hallway. Pulling out the piece of paper Natalie followed down the corridor and turned a corner, walking all the way down to a door where Natalie knew was the right place.

Raising her hand, she gently knocked on the wood and didn't have to wait long before the door opened, revealing a much older man. "You must be Natalie Collins?"

Natalie gave him a smile. "And you must be Dr. Robert. I'm guessing my Aunt called you."

"She gave me a heads up. But, sweetie I knew your father for many years."

"That's good to know." Natalie replied genuinely.

"Well, then." Dr. Robert stepped away from the door allowing a path for Natalie to enter. "Come on in and we can get this on the road."

Natalie nodded and walked past Dr. Robert into the apartment complex. "By the way, this place is really...nice."

"The rent was cheap." Dr. Robert responded, closing the door behind him.

A young woman was standing next to a few medical tables, setting everything up and didn't really pay any attention to Natalie.

"Natalie, this is my assistant Eva." Dr. Robert introduced the woman for her. Natalie gave Eva a small nod, only to be answered by a small look from her.

Dr. Robert made his way over to the medical table and patted the firm matting."Okay, well, hop right on up and we'll get started."

Natalie huffed out a breath, remembering that she had something to give to him. "Before we get started..." She slid off her bag and pulled out the envelope that contained the money she had gotten from her own personal savings and handed it to Dr. Robert. "Just wanted to make sure you had that. Also, um...if anything goes wrong...well then just..."

"Call your Aunt?" Dr. Robert answered for her.

"Yeah. She'll tell everyone who needs to know." Natalie replied and then nodded to herself, giving herself right amount of boost she needed to walk over to the table.

Taking off her jacket, she tossed it over to an empty chair then hopped up on the table and scooted back enough for her to lay down. "Now, you've done this many times before, right?" She asked nervously.

"Oh yes, many times." Dr. Robert answered, readying the IV.

Natalie nodded anxiously. "And...how many of those times were successful?"

"Oh, actually very well. Almost 75%." Natalie gave him a somewhat satisfied smile. "So, should we get started now."

Natalie nodded and slowly lowered herself onto her back, though her eyes were fixed on the IV needle that he was getting ready to put into her arm. Out of all the things she was wary about, needles set her nerves on end like nothing else.

Dr. Robert brought the needle over to her arm, once he found an accessible vein the needle just began to prick her skin when the door to the apartment suddenly swung open. Natalie immediately shot up and looked over, seeing Dean and there was a mix of anger and relief that washed over him.

"Nad, what the hell are you doing?!" Dean asked, striding into the room.

Natalie's mouth fell agape and she swung her legs over to the side of the table and hopped off. "How the hell did you find me?"

"What do you think?" Dean asked, his tone almost taking on a mocking sense.

"You followed me, didn't you?" Natalie said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Of course I did. You disappeared, neither Bobby or I knew about it and I knew there was only one place you would go. Here." Dean looked up at Dr. Robert and then to Eva. "How did you even get here?" He asked genuinely curious.

Natalie gave him a shrug. "I called Jake. He was close to Bobby's and he drove me here."

"Yeah, well, you just made a trip for nothing because you are not doing this."

"Dean. Don't give me that crap. I'm here and there is no use in me leaving. This was a plan you, Bobby and I had figured out..."

"Yeah, but that plan didn't have anything to do with you doing this." Dean was quick to point out.

Natalie let out a frustrated sigh. "God, I am not made of glass Dean! You and Bobby treat me like I'm so vulnerable when I really am not. I can take care of myself and I can handle something like this."

"How would you know? You've never done something like this." Dean corrected her.

"Yeah, well, neither have you...and you were the one who was thinking about letting yourself go on with this plan." Natalie reminded him.

"Yeah, because I was willing to subject myself to this."

"Well so am I!" Natalie huffed out, but quickly made sure to quiet herself. "Dean, you carry all of this on your shoulders, never letting anyone help. Just let me do this. Let me take on the burden just this once."

Dean remained silent, all of the anger he had at the beginning had slowly diminished, and now, Natalie had no idea what he was thinking. Which in a sense, really irked her. She had no way of knowing if he was going to let her go through with it or not. Looking past Natalie, he could see the doctor and Eva giving them curious looks and he sighed heavily.

"Nad. If anything were to happen during this...if anything went wrong...I can't let that happen. So I'm gonna do it." Dean finished, receiving a wide-eyed look from Natalie.

"Wait, what?"

"Yep." He answered and began to take off his jacket. "I'll be able to handle it. But, if something did happen to you...that would be on me." He finished and tossed his jacket in the same chair where she had discarded hers.

"Dean, please just let me-"

"That's final, Nad." Dean warned, leaving no real room for her to argue her side.

Natalie bit down on her lip as Dean walked past her and she closed her eyes at the thought of what she was about to do. "Sorry, Dean." She turned around and grabbed his shoulder, causing him to turn to her. As he did, Natalie brought her fist up and punched him across the face, luckily it was hard enough to send him falling to the ground.

Natalie silently hissed as she massaged her wrist that was currently pulsating from the hit. "Dammit." She silently seethed to herself. Looking back up at Dr. Robert and Eva she gave them a hesitant smile. "Sorry about all of this." She said motioning down at an unconscious Dean.

"You think maybe...you could help me move him to a chair?" Natalie asked as she bent down next to him, taking hold of his arm.

Dr. Robert walked over, bending down next to Dean, he took hold of his other arm and they both hoisted him up on his feet. Then, quite lazily, they dragged him over to one of the spare chairs and plopped him down on the cushion.

Natalie looked down at Dean, feeling incredibly guilty for what she had done. Dean just didn't want anything to happen to her, but she was tired of Dean doing all of the work. She wanted to help him and this was a way for her to do so.

Natalie quickly walked over to the table, hopped back up and laid back down. "All right. Let's get this going."

Dr. Robert gave her a small skeptical look, but prepared the needle once again regardless. "All right." He quickly but carefully, inserted the needle into the vein and allowed the IV to start its work.

Natalie stared up at the ceiling, feeling her eyes slowly to grow heavy with drowsiness. Her entire body soon began to relax, every muscle releasing any tension she had built up.

"You have three minutes."

The last words from Dr. Robert were buzzing around in her head as she finally closed her eyes and flat lined.

* * *

><p>Natalie looked down at her body on the table and furrowed her brows. "Wow, this is really, really weird." Natalie looked up and took in a breath. "All right...three minutes."<p>

Natalie walked over to the door and reached for the handle only to have her hand go through it. It took her a second to remember that she was dead. Then a small smirk appeared. "This ought to be interesting." She said to herself as she slowly walked through the door and her smirk grew into a full on smile as she found herself standing in the hallway.

Walking back out into the store, Natalie saw the people were still behind the counter and oh right, they couldn't see her because she was dead. _Gotta start remembering that. _"Okay, let's hope that this works."

Natalie pulled out a small piece of paper with an incantation written on it and sucked in a breath. _"Messorum evoco qui me tetigit." _

"What the hell?"

Natalie looked up to see a young woman standing in front of her, confused as to why she was here. "Wow, it actually worked."

The woman spotted Natalie and pointed at her. "Did you just summon me?"

Natalie, who was staring at the woman, mouth agape, slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. That was me."

"Why the hell would you do that? I was in Sudan!" The woman began to scold her.

Natalie raised her hands up in defense. "Okay, before you go all rage on me, I need a favor-wait, what's your name? I mean if you have one."

"My name is Tessa."

"Okay, Tessa...listen, I'm sorry that I pulled you out of Sudan but, I need a favor from you." Natalie began to speak, though she paused when she saw Tessa roll her eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me...wait, are you dead?"

Natalie nodded and Tessa let out a laugh. "Really? You died so that you could ask me something?"

"Well, I mainly died because I need to talk with Death."

Tessa's expression fell and she tilted her head to the side. "You need to talk with Death? Why?"

Natalie pursed her lips. "Because only he can help me."

Tessa continued to stare at Natalie, though her expression turned to curiosity. "What makes you think that he would talk with you?"

"Because he has met me before and plus...well, I don't know if you would consider it a plus...I'm a friend of Dean Winchester."

Tessa's relaxed but it was replaced with annoyance. "That actually explains a lot."

"Yeah." Natalie creased her brow briefly. "But, anyway, I need you to get Death here."

"There is no way I'm doing that."

Natalie took a step closer to Tessa. "Why not?"

"Because I can't. It's simple as that."

"Please, Tessa. He is the _only _person who can help me out with this favor. He would not only be doing this for me but for Dean."

"I can't call Death. That's not how all of this works." Tessa explained.

"You have to be able to make some sort of exception."

"No! I can't!"

"That's fine Tessa. That will be all." Death said, suddenly appearing over at the counter. He slowly looked over at Natalie, causing her to shiver. "Hello, Natalie."

Natalie swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to conjure up her voice. "Hello...Death."

"Enough of pleasantries. I am very busy. What do you want?"

Natalie went to walk towards him, but hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Lucifer's Cage."

Death nodded slowly. "What about it?"

"You can gain entry to it. Without any kind of trouble."

"And what makes you think that?"

Natalie paused, thinking on her next words. "Because you're Death." The look on his face was her cue to continue. "I need you to get Sam's soul out of that cage."

"Yes, I heard that his soul was still trapped in that box." Death quipped.

"And there is someone else you need to get out. Their brother Adam. Michael used him as the vessel and brought him down there as well."

Death gave Natalie a blank look and though she couldn't read him, he was debating through his mind as to how much of this deal he was willing to go through with.

"One."

Natalie gave him a confused look. "What?"

"You need to pick one of them for me to bring back. Not two."

"But-but that's...that's not fair."

"You're lucky that I am even considering bringing one of them back." Death interrupted, quickly shooting down Natalie's argument. "Sam's soul or Adam."

Natalie remained quiet, sorting out this dilemma that never even crossed her mind as she was driving up here. Yes, she wanted to get Sam's soul out of the cage, but she couldn't just leave Adam down there to rot, regardless if she knew him well or not. But, their main goal all this time was to get Sam's soul back right? So this decision should be an easy one...right?"

"What's it going to be Natalie?" Death's question cut through her thoughts.

Natalie closed her eyes and took in a breath. _Sorry Adam. _"Sam. I want you to bring Sam's soul back. But, uh, he's been down there for a year and I know that his soul isn't in the...best shape."

"Best shape? More like it has been flayed, right down to his nerve."

Natalie cringed faintly at the thought. "Is there anything you could do to...take that part away? Get rid of all of his memories of hell?"

* * *

><p>Dean slowly felt himself waking up, all the noise that was stirring in the room were muffled, but he could hear slightly panicked voices. His eyes opened and the vision of two, blurred, figures was the first thing he saw and as his vision cleared, he could see the outline of Natalie lying on the table and everything came back to him.<p>

_She knocked me out._

Rolling onto his side, his arm hung over the side of the chair, allowing himself some time for his vision to adjust. Just as his eyes began to focus, he could see Dr. Robert performing manual CPR on Natalie and Dean could feel his entire body go numb.

_She really went through with it._

As quick as he could, Dean grunted and pushed himself back up to his feet. Once he got the feeling back in his legs, Dean rushed over to Natalie's side, garnering Dr. Robert's attention.

Dr. Robert gave Dean a quick look as he finished up giving Natalie manual CPR realizing that it wasn't working."Glad to see you awake son." He said briefly.

Dean stumbled over to Natalie's side, hearing the flat line and seeing her lying so still, it honestly was causing him to panic. "How long has she been gone?"

"Longer than we need her to be. We need to get her back, but, regular CPR isn't working."

Dean shook his head, ridding of the dizziness he was still feeling and rested his hands on top of Natalie's chest. "Let me try."

"Dean. I already tried, it's not gonna work." Dr. Robert said, hoping to get Dean to not perform the action since he had other options.

Dean shook his head as he began to pushed down in singular hard pulses against her chest. "You didn't let me have a go at it." Dean grunted out as he continued the singular pulses, making sure to keep an even pattern. "Come on, Nad."

* * *

><p>Death gave Natalie an incredulous look and began to slowly shake his head. "Natalie. What do you even think a soul is? Some pie that you can slice? Souls cane be tortured, bludgeoned, but never broken. Not even by me."<p>

Natalie sighed in defeat. "Please...there has to be something that you can do."

"Why are you so loyal to them? Why risk your life to do all of this?"

Natalie gave Death a somewhat blank look. "Because I know if the roles were reversed, and my soul was in the cage, Sam and Dean would do whatever they could to get it back. I'm doing this for Sam. He's this ticking bomb that is set to go off and I just...want to fix him before something...really, really bad happens."

Death's eyes narrowed slightly at Natalie, not in a condescending way, but more of like he was...evaluating her. For what, Natalie couldn't even begin to imagine. "You know, ever since I met you a year ago, there was something about you that...intrigued me."

Natalie shifted her feet, uncomfortably, and gave him a shrug. "I'm not all that intriguing."

"No." Death was quick to add. "It's something about _you. _Something that I quite can't put my finger on."

Natalie felt her brows crease heavily and she took a small step towards him. "What do you mean?"

"Something is coming your way Natalie. Something...drastic. It would do you well to keep an eye out." Death finished with a blank stare that made Natalie feel immensely uneasy.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, feeling a little threatened by his words.

Death broke his gaze on her and stood up from his chair. "I'll tell you what. I can't erase Sam's hell, but I can put it behind a wall, if you will." He explained, drastically changing the subject.

Natalie, who was a little taken back from the sudden change, shook her head and nodded. "Okay. A wall. So basically like a blockade kind of?"

"If that's what you want to call it. In his mind, it will act like a dam to hold back the tide. Keep out those nasty memories. Trust me, you don't want to know what they could do to him."

"Okay, okay a-a wall. That sounds like a good plan to me." Natalie quickly agreed.

"But, it's not going to be a permanent wall." Tessa suddenly chimed in.

"She's right. Nothing lasts forever." Death said, confirming Tessa's statement.

"Okay. Well, Sam with a built-in dam in his mind is better than Sam with no soul. Okay. Do it."

"I never said that I would do it."

Natalie gave him a look and raised her arms in a questioning gesture. "Then what the hell have we been doing this whole time?"

"It's your prize. If you win the wager." Death answered.

* * *

><p>Dean continued pushing down at Natalie's chest, his eyes flicking over to the monitor, though it only showed that she was still flat-lining. "Come on, Nad!" He called out, giving a few last pulsing pushes.<p>

Dr. Robert turned to another machine and picked up two paddles. "Dean, move out of the way!" Dean looked over at Dr. Robert and his eyes widened at the paddles that he placed on Natalie's body. _ If this won't work, then what the hell will? _

"It's fully charged." Eva said.

"Okay, Three. Two. One." Natalie's body jolted up at the bolt of electricity that pulsed through her body. Dean looked over at the monitor, still seeing no change.

"Charge it up, this time to 300." Dr. Robert said and waited for Eva's queue to countdown. "Three. Two. One."

Natalie's body once again jolted as her body was surged with the electrical charge, but once again, there was no progress. Dean watched as Dr. Robert continued to amp up the charge and then the sight of Natalie's lifeless body reacting to it with no change, he could feel this sense of dread come over him. If she actually didn't make it, then it was definitely all on him this time. He was there with Natalie, he wasn't paying attention and that allowed her to knock him out. All of this was his fault.

"Come on Nad." Dean silently said to himself. "You better come back."

As the last round of charge sped through Natalie's body and once again there was no progress, Dr. Robert turned to Eva. "Get the adrenaline."

* * *

><p>"What's the bet?" Natalie asked timidly.<p>

"You still have my ring?" Natalie gave him a quick nod. "When you find the ring. Put it on."

Natalie blinked several times. "What?"

"I want you to be me for one day."

Natalie let out a small laugh and narrowed her eyes. "You're joking with me, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking Natalie?" Death asked, completely dead-panned from her genuine shock. Natalie answered with a simple shake of the head. "Put on the ring and be me for one whole day. But, if you take the ring off before the 24 hours are up...the deal is off. Sam doesn't get his soul back. \We clear?"

Natalie nodded her understanding and pursed her lips. "But, why do you want me to do this?"

"I have my reasons. But, let's just say, I'm curious to see how you can handle yourself in certain situations. Because in the direction you are heading...you are going to need it."

Natalie couldn't help the sigh of annoyance that escaped. "What is it that you keep on hinting about? Do you see something in my future or what? Is something going to happen to me?"

"Now that...is something that you will have to wait and see." Death simply stated. He gave her one last look and turned to walk away when he stopped. "And one more thing Natalie-"

* * *

><p>The room was silent, except for Natalie's continuous flat-lining that was reverberating through Dean's ears. Dr. Robert had already administered the adrenaline into Natalie's IV drip...and nothing has happened.<p>

Dean could feel himself holding in his breath, his eyes never leaving Natalie, but as seconds turned into minutes and there was no improvement, his hope was now starting to dwindle down to nothing. Dean finally took a small step back away from Natalie, already surmising that she wasn't going to make it.

Natalie's eyes suddenly shot open and she sucked in a huge breath. Dr. Robert immediately placed his hands on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "Oh, thank Moses." He breathed a sigh of relief.

Natalie looked around her, feeling her body shaking from the adrenaline that was still pumping through her. "Really doc? You couldn't have given me just a few more seconds?"

"Sweetie, you were out for almost ten minutes." Dr. Robert replied, but it also told Natalie that if she had been dead any longer then she wouldn't have come back.

Dean walked over to Natalie and took hold of her arm and she looked over at him. Immediately, Dean could see her expression fall and he knew that Natalie thought he was still pissed at her. Which, in all honesty, he was, but seeing her breathing was something he was just grateful for.

"Come on, let's sit you up." Dr. Robert said as he and Dean both gently pushed Natalie up into a sitting position.

Once she was sitting up, Dean immediately wrapped his arms around her and Natalie didn't stop herself from doing the same. But, the hug was soon ended by Dean who pulled away from her, readying himself to give her some kind of lecture.

"Nad. Don't ever. Ever. Pull something like that again. Like seriously, Nad. My face is still numb from that punch you threw at me."

Natalie offered Dean an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Dean. Just sometimes, I need to take one for the team."

"No, Nad, you don't And that doesn't mean you are going to be let off the hook that easy Nad."

Natalie sighed and gave a slight roll of her eyes. "Dean, before you go into a long lecture. I have a way to get Sam's soul back."

Dean's expression turned from scolding to relieved curiosity. "How?"

Natalie slowly pushed herself off of the table and pointed over at her jacket, which Dean grabbed along with his. "I'll tell you when we get to Bobby's." She turned back to Dr. Robert. "Thanks for everything Dr. Robert."

Dean took a hold of Natalie's arm and began to guide her out of the room. "You know Bobby is going to have a fit when he finds out."

"Yeah, well." Natalie paused as she stumbled slightly. "That's what I get."

* * *

><p>"What the hell were you thinking Nad?!" Bobby called out.<p>

Natalie sighed and leaned against the wall, her arms folded over her chest. "Here we go." Dean and Natalie had arrived back at Bobby's not to long ago and Sam had agreed to meet them there. But, Natalie really wasn't in the mood to hear them lecturing her.

"I mean seriously, we all knew that something major could have gone wrong and from what Dean told me, you were close to staying dead!"

"Bobby, please just-"

"Not to mention the fact that you managed to knock Dean out. Which I am surprised at." Bobby said casting a look over at Dean.

"Hey! I didn't see it coming all right! I didn't think Nad would do it." Dean said, trying to defend himself.

"Well, you've known her long enough to know how stubborn she is."

"Will you two just shut up?!" Natalie yelled, halting the conversation between Bobby and Dean. "You guys never give me the benefit of the doubt. Every time we have to do something risky it's always, 'Nad just stay back on this one'. I spent practically a year all by myself...I think I can take care of myself."

"Nad, what you did was a stupid act. Just don't do something like that again." Bobby said, trying to reason with her. "We just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Well, that's different from what Death thinks." Natalie mumbled to herself.

"What?" Bobby asked.

Natalie looked at him and shook her head. "Nothing." Her eyes then focused on Sam. "I have a way to get your soul back."

Sam's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"I was able to convince Death to get your soul back." Natalie finished, feeling quite relieved at hearing the words herself.

"You what?!" Sam called out, walking towards hers. "I heard Cas and Crowley, Nad. They said it would either kill me or turn me to jello! I think I heard enough."

"No, Sam, listen to me. Death said that he will put up a wall."

Sam furrowed his brows. "A wall?"

Natalie nodded. "Yes, a wall. It's basically a dam that will make sure that you won't remember anything from hell."

"Really? So like for good? Like it can cure whatever being in that cage has done to me?"

Natalie hesitated and bit down on her lip. "Well...no, it's-it's not a cure. Death said that it could last quite some time."

"Oh. So basically we are just playing fast and loose with my life here. Wouldn't you think so?"

Natalie sighed heavily as her shoulders slumped. "Sam...dammit, I'm just trying to help you, all right?"

"Exactly, Nad! It's not your life that is being risked here! It's mine! And it sure ain't your head that's gonna explode when this whole scheme goes wrong!"

Natalie rubbed her temples, feeling to tired to actually go into an in-depth argument with him. "Sam, please. I did not just die for ten minutes just so you could shut down this plan."

"I'm curious though." Bobby said. "I know that Death can't be doing this out of the goodness of his heart. So, what's the deal between you two?"

"I have to wear his ring for the whole day. Be him." Natalie answered.

Bobby and Dean exchanged a confused look. "Why the hell would he want you to do that?" Bobby asked.

Natalie shrugged. "He said that he had his reasons. Mainly because he wanted to see if I-" She stopped herself from going any further, but it didn't go unnoticed.

"He wanted to see if you...what?" Dean asked, deciding to press the matter a little more.

"Nothing. The point is that I need to complete this deal, without failing. And that's exactly what I plan on doing." Natalie gave Bobby, Dean and Sam the best reassuring look she could conjure. "Where's the ring?"

Dean hesitantly pulled the ring out of his pocket and walked over to her, placing it in her hand. "I still don't like this Nad."

"I know." Natalie fumbled around with the ring in her hand for a few moments, then placed it in her pocket. "But, I need to do this."

Sam, without a word, walked past them out of the room and walked out onto the front porch. Natalie let out a sigh. "I'll be fine. You guys don't have to worry. All right? Just...watch Sam."

Bobby and Dean both nodded for their responses. Natalie took in a breath and walked out of the room and onto the front porch. Seeing Sam standing there, most likely thinking through her plan, she decided to try and get him to understand.

"Sam. I know you feel indifferent about all of this and I don't blame you. But, you just need to trust me on this."

"I now you mean well Nad. It's just you don't know if this whole wall thing is even going to work."

Natalie nodded her understanding. "But, if Death says he can do it...then I believe him. But, you just need to stick with the plan. I promise it will all go the way it should be."

Sam scoffed, giving her a quick side glance. "You can't promise that, Nad."

"Yes, I can. Because I'm doing this for you Sam. And I'm gonna make sure that everything goes the way it should."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so what did you all think?! How do you like the idea of Nad being Death?! Let me know! Don't forget to drop me a review! Xx<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: So my schoolwork has lightened up for me this week so I had more time to write this chapter. I'm hoping to get the next one up this weekend. I am so glad you all liked the previous chapter! And I am happy to see how anxious you are about what Death was talking about. There shall be more hints dropped throughout the rest of this story and into the next one. I really can't wait to start writing out this story arch for Natalie and I am pretty sure the result is something you guys won't expect...or maybe you do expect it...I don't know. We shall see!_

_Also this is the longest chapter I have written in all three stories! ACCOMPLISHMENT! Also, five more days until season 10! Are you guys excited?! I know I am!_

_I once again dedicate this chapter to __**Ladysunshine6**_

_Let's get on with the chapter shall we!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Natalie stood in the middle of the sidewalk, her eyes scanning around the town that she was in. She was already beginning to have some doubts about doing this, not so much about what might happen to her, but, she couldn't stop thinking about the possible outcomes of Sam getting his soul back. Would the wall even be strong enough to hold back his memories? Or will Death just sell her out and put a faulty dam in Sam's mind? Thinking things like that, really isn't a great way to start off the day you have to play 'Death'.<p>

With the ring in her hands, she began to idly fumble with it, trying to put up whatever guard she needed in order to get through this as clean as possible. "Here goes nothing." Natalie slowly slid the ring onto her finger and looked in front of her, thinking there would be a major difference...there wasn't.

"Guess they're just going to let anyone be Death these days, aren't they?"

Natalie turned to see Tessa walking towards her. "Yeah, it's good to see you to Tessa."

"Let's get one thing straight. I don't like this. And I just feel like you're going to screw up some how."

Natalie cringed slightly at the slight harshness in Tessa's words. "You're going a little bitter there. Plus, it was Death's idea...not mine."

"Then let's just be clear on one thing so we can get through this. You are going to stick to the rules. All right?"

Natalie shrugged giving Tessa an obvious look. "That's the plan."

"Which means you will kill _everyone _whose time is up. Got it?"

"Okay. But, how will I know who I need to kill?"

"You don't have to worry about that." Tessa said, folding her arms over her chest. "I have a list. You touch them, they die and then I reap them. That's all. Stick with those basic rules and you should be able to win this deal, no problem."

Natalie gave an less-than-optimistic shrug, feeling like she was starting to not want to do this. "Natalie, now is not the time for this unsure attitude. You take off the ring and you lose the bet. Sam doesn't get his soul back. So you need to stay focus. Don't mess it up."

Natalie took Tessa's words into her consideration and nodded in agreement. The quicker they got onto the task of killing and reaping, Sam will get his soul. "Okay. I got it."

"Good." Tessa walked past Natalie, nudging her arm to follow her. "Oh also, when people die, they might have questions for you."

Natalie nodded her head once and then looked over at Tessa. "Questions like..."

"Like 'what does me dying all mean?' "

Natalie gave a confused shake of the head. "Are you going to give me something to say?"

"No."

"Well, then what the hell am I supposed to do? Try and come up with a powerful meaning right on the spot?"

Tessa gave Natalie an eye roll. "Just suck it up and do your best. It's part of the job."

"Maybe I'll just throw some Gandalf quotes at them. Those usually have some philosophical meaning to them." Natalie commented, which earned a small laugh from Tessa.

The entirety of their walk consisted of silence between both of them. No word was really spoken to each other. Natalie had never met Tessa before their little interaction back at the store. That wasn't exactly the best note to go off of.

Before long, Natalie and Tessa came upon a convenience store and Tessa quickly ushered them both in. Once inside, Natalie could hear yelling coming from the cashier counter not to far from them and looking over, she could see that the store was being robbed.

"They can't see you so don't try and stop it." Tessa said to her, walking closer to the scene. "You just need to let it all play out."

Natalie silently walked up along side Tessa, her eyes fixed on the scene and it was then that she noticed the little boy clutching onto the man being robbed, who she could only tell was his father. She felt herself grow heavy at the chances that it might be the boy she would have to take.

"Who am I going to have to take?" Natalie asked, looking over at Tessa when she didn't answer. "Which is it, Tessa?"

"You just need to wait and see."

Natalie scoffed at Tessa's response, not to happy with the answer that she got, but what else was she supposed to do. Instead, she settled for watching the event play out, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do. All the while, she was silently praying that the kid would walk away from this unscathed.

The man, pushes the bag that was sitting on the counter, onto the floor and the robber, annoyingly, bent down to pick it up. The man, who had pushed his son behind him, reached underneath the counter and pulled out a gun. When the robber stood back up to face him, the man fired off a shot that pierced the robber in the chest.

Natalie's eyes widened at the turn of events that just happened and was pushed out of her trance when Tessa nudged her in the side.

"Go ahead. Take him." She stated.

Natalie gave Tessa an unsure look and received a nod for her to get on and do what she needed to do. Taking in a breath, Natalie hesitantly walked over to the bleeding robber and knelt down next to him. As she scanned over the wound, Natalie reached her hand up and gently touched the top of his hand.

Natalie watched as his breathing stopped and his eyes closed and she couldn't help but feel almost kind of sick to her stomach. Standing back up, she turned to find that he was standing next to Tessa.

"Why?" He asked, his eyes never leaving his dead body.

Natalie looked down at his body and then back to him. "You didn't exactly make the best choices. Guess they came back to bite you."

Tessa grabbed hold of his arm, motioning for him to leave with her. Natalie watched silently as Tessa and the robber left the store and she took a moment to grasp what had happened. She had practically killed someone and that didn't sit well with her. Despite the fact that he was a robber, Natalie couldn't help the sickening feeling that was stirring inside of her.

"Hopefully that will be as bad as it gets." Natalie sighed to herself.

* * *

><p>Walking down the street, Tessa had taken a notice that Natalie was quiet, a lot more quiet compared to how she was at the beginning. Taking a quick look at Natalie, she could only surmise that maybe this whole, being Death thing, wasn't exactly what she thought it would be. Though, what exactly would a person think being Death would be like? It's certainly not something fun to do.<p>

"That was simple enough for you, wasn't it?" Tessa asked, breaking the silence that was between them.

Though at her words, Natalie gave her a look. "I just took away a human's life...that's not exactly something I'm to fond of right now."

"You were the one who agreed to the deal, Natalie. You should have known it wasn't going to be a walk in the park."

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy." Natalie quickly retorted. "I just didn't expect that it would feel like this."

"What did you think it was going to be like?" Tessa asked.

Natalie gave her a shrug. "I don't know! I just...didn't expect to feel like this. I don't know how else to explain it." Natalie answered, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, you better get used to it, quick. Because you still have a long way to go before the deal is done." Tessa commented.

Natalie cringed at her words, knowing that she was right. Natalie still had hours left of this whole, be Death for a day, thing. And despite the fact that she wanted to just go back to Bobby's, this deal was something that she had to win. This was now their _only _chance on getting Sam's soul back.

For some reason though, thinking about all of this, it made Natalie remember what Death told her while they were talking. The whole, 'something is coming your way' speech had actually unnerved her quite a bit. The more she thought about it, the more paranoid she began to feel.

"Tessa?" Natalie asked, deciding to ask her about it.

"What?"

"Those things that Death said to me, back there, about the whole 'something drastic is coming your way' and that I needed to keep an eye out. Do you have any idea what he is talking about?"

Tessa remained silent, keeping her eyes forward so that she wouldn't have to look at Natalie. But, the silence just caused Natalie to become even more suspicious.

"You do know don't you? You know what's going to happen to me?"

"No, I don't." Tessa said, turning to look at her.

Seeing the skeptical look on Natalie's face, Tessa knew she had to press further. "I am telling the truth, Natalie. I have no idea what Death was talking about and actually I don't think Death knows either. He doesn't know what's going to happen...he just knows something will happen. And in all honesty."

Tessa stopped her walking to take a good look at Natalie, then proceeded on their way. "There is something about you. It's almost like there's this...dark aura that surrounds you. I just see pain and death."

Natalie let out a scoff. "Well, I have experienced a lot of death in my life."

"It's more than that Natalie. I just don't know what it is...I can't give you any other explanations. Like Death said, you just have to see through it yourself."

Natalie nodded, still not satisfied with what Tessa had told her. "That's just going to be a whole bunch of fun."

"There's our next person." Tessa said, pointing over to a man sitting on a bench, eating away on a piece of pizza.

Natalie looked over at the guy and furrowed her brows slightly. Though she had to admit that she was happy they found their next person. It would allow her to try and forget what Death had said to her. "Is this one going to be simple to?" Getting another look at him, Natalie pursed her lips together. "I'm guessing this is going to be a heart attack?"

The man sitting on the bench suddenly halted his eating and his hand flew up to his chest as he fell to the ground in front of them.

Natalie stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. "I guess I spoke to soon." She said as she walked over to him and touched him on the arm. Looking back up, she saw the man staring at her.

"Why?"

Natalie bit down on her bottom lip and gazed back down at the unfinished pizza. "Maybe...not enough healthy choices?" She said, giving him an unsure look.

The man's face lightened and he gave a small laugh. "Yeah. It was good though."

Natalie gave him a faint smile. "Well, it's time for you to go."

The man nodded and turned to leave with Tessa, but stopped, and looked back at Natalie. "Will you tell me, at least, what it all means?"

Natalie froze, her eyes widening slightly, due to the fact that she didn't expect to be asked anything further then 'why?'. Her eyes flickered over to Tessa, who gave her an encouraging nod to say something. _What am I going to say? Think. _Natalie cleared her throat, upon noticing the expectant look on the man's face and she gave him a hesitant smile.

"Death...is just another path...one that we all must take." Natalie finished, feeling a little proud with herself that she remembered this line from _Lord of The Rings. _

The man nodded in understanding and took her words into consideration. But, his brows furrowed as he recognized the familiarity of those words. "Wait...isn't that from _Lord of the Rings?_"

"Hmm?" Natalie quickly responded, not thinking that he would catch onto that.

"That quote. That's from _Lord of the Rings. _Isn't it?"

Natalie gave him a forced exaggerated look and shrugged her shoulders. "I-I don't think so."

The man narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded. "No, I think it is. You pulled that quote right from the movie."

Natalie stared at the man, at lost for how to defend herself and then she settled for a laugh. She looked over at Tessa and silently communicated to get him out of here.

Tessa rolled her eyes and grabbed the man by his arm. "Sorry about that. She's new." As they both turned to walk away, Tessa gave Natalie a look, which was responded by Natalie holding up her arms in a questioning manner.

Once they were out of sight, Natalie let out a sigh and thought back to what she had told him and then hummed to herself. "I thought it was a really good quote for the moment." She said to herself.

* * *

><p>Tessa and Natalie walked down a hospital corridor and Natalie was just trying to prepare herself to have to go through this, once again. "Oh by the way, that whole quote thing back there, great job." Tessa commented out of random.<p>

Natalie gave her a look and shrugged. "I told you earlier that I was going to result to quoting Gandalf, I wasn't lying. You put me on the spot like that, I panic. But, in all honesty, I thought the quote worked for the moment."

"Whatever you say Natalie." Tessa came to a stop outside of a hospital room and motioned for Natalie to enter. "After you boss."

Natalie furrowed her brows slightly before looking into the room and she saw a father sitting on the hospital bed, reading a book to his daughter. From hearing bits and pieces of their conversation, Natalie heard that they were talking about a California trip they took when she was younger.

Closing her eyes, Natalie let out a pained sigh and looked over at Tessa. "The dad or the girl?"

"The girl." Tessa replied.

Natalie shook her head and looked over at Tessa. "No, Tessa. How old is she?"

"12."

Natalie turned her head to look at the father and the girl. "Does...does he have any other family?"

"No, not really."

"You have got to be kidding me." Natalie allowed her head to hang.

"What? Did you think it was gonna be robbers and heart attacks all day?"

"Tess, I can't do it! I mean she is only 12 years old!"

"And she has a very serious heart condition."

Natalie looked back at the girl and seeing the two of them together, it only made her think of her and her father. All memories of them together were beginning to flood back into her mind. Natalie had lost to much of her own family, she wasn't going to do it to these two.

"Who is the next person on the list?" Natalie asked, turning to Tessa.

"You have to take her Natalie."

"I'm not taking her. And who says that I have to?"

Tessa gave Natalie a look. "Death."

"Yeah, well, I'm Death. And who tells him then?"

"I don't know. It's just how it is. It's destiny."

Natalie scoffed and shook her head. "Don't give me that destiny crap. I watched destiny being altered during the apocalypse last year. There is always another way. The girl lives."

"Natalie, destiny is very much real. Sometimes it can be bended into different ways. But, everyone has one. That little girl is meant to die. Just like you have your own 'destiny' brewing up in the pot. You can't cheat out of it."

Natalie inched closer to Tessa. "Just watch me. She is living." Natalie said as she brushed past Tessa to walk out into the hallway.

"Natalie, you do realize when you don't abide by what fate has in store...there will be consequences...dire ones."

"I don't care. I'm Death for the day and that girl is off the list. You got it?" Natalie waited for Tessa to respond but all she got was a very faint nod.

* * *

><p>"Medically, I can't explain it."<p>

"So her heart just healed?"

"Couple of times in your career, you see something you just got to call a miracle. All I know is I won't have to operate." The doctor finished giving his information to the father before leaving.

Natalie had watched the entire scene, more than pleased at the fact that the young girl was already on the road to recovery. Looking over at Tessa, Natalie saw that she was less than enthusiastic about all of this.

"You see?" Natalie said, peering into the room. "Everything is going to be fine. The girl is getting better...and nothing has happened."

Tessa continued to stare at Natalie, waiting to see if she will finally understand that this wasn't the way that all of this was supposed to turnout. She tried to get Natalie to understand, but she wouldn't listen. If anything, Tessa knew that something bad was going to happen, sooner or later.

"Come on." Tess finally said, turning away and began to walk down the hallway.

Natalie rolled her eyes slightly and followed after her. At first, Natalie thought there were more people she would have to see before leaving, but no, Tessa was already making for the hospital exit. And the whole time, Natalie had been trying to talk with her, only to be met with silence. _She's pissed. _Natalie knew why and she understood Tessa's reasoning, but that little girl was going to live, nothing bad would come from that.

Reaching the main lobby of the hospital, Natalie and Tessa were making a quick walk towards the exit with Natalie trying to talk with her the whole time.

"Tessa? Hey. What are you just going to be giving me the silent treatment? That's a little childish don't you think?" Natalie questioned.

Tessa suddenly stopped, causing Natalie to do the same. Just then, a team of paramedics came rushing in with a new patient lying on the gurney. "Damn it! I knew this would happen!" Tessa hissed out.

Natalie gave her a confused look. "Wait, what do you mean?"

The two of them walk towards the emergency room, where the nurses were beginning to work on stabilizing the patient. It took several looks for Natalie for her to recognize who it was. She was a nurse who had been in and out of the little girl's room. She was just someone Natalie would see past by, but she knew that face.

"Oh my god...that's..."

"Yeah. You let the girl live. The nurse goes home early, gets in a crash she wouldn't have. And she needs the heart surgeon, and where is he?" Tessa finished, looking over at Natalie.

Natalie kept her eyes on the battered body of the nurse and she shook her head in denial. "No. No, this can't be because of me letting the girl live."

"I knew that you had knocked over a domino somewhere." Tess commented. The heart monitor began to beep, signaling that she was close to flat-lining. Tessa quickly ushered Natalie towards the nurse. "Take her."

Natalie looked back at her, eyes widened. "What?! No! She's not on the list Tessa."

"Like I said before Natalie, everything you do has consequences. Do you want to set off another chain reaction?"

As she looked back at the nurse, Natalie could begin to feel her hands start to shake from her shock and denial. "No. She has nothing to do with this Tessa!"

"Well, too bad, Natalie. You put on the ring. Now do your damn job."

Natalie views the nurses trying to revive her as she hesitantly made her way over to the side of the gurney. Raising her hand, Natalie slowly touched the nurse's arm and the loud flat-lining soon began to resonate through her ears.

"Am I dead?"

Natalie's head turned to the side and she saw the nurse's spirit standing at the end of the bed and soon she could fee herself being eaten away from her guilt.

"I can't be dead. I'm..."

"So young." Tessa finished for her. "Actually, you were supposed to live for many decades. Have kids, grandkids. But, she screwed up." Tessa finished, motioning over to Natalie.

The nurse turned to look at Natalie, her eyes filled with confusion. "You did this to me?"

Natalie was at lost for words. She was the sole reason for this woman dying, when she wasn't supposed to. All those years of blaming herself for what happened to her mom, dad and brother, she had always blamed herself when she wasn't to blame. But now, all of this was on her. And that was what stung the most.

No words she could think of, not that anything was coming to mind, could give this woman any kind of solace for what happened to her. All of this would not have taken place, if Natalie had just stuck with killing the people that needed to die, not to try and alter destinies.

When Natalie said nothing, Tessa gently took hold of the woman's arm. "Come on, Jolene. It's time to go."

"Wait!" Natalie suddenly called out and Jolene stopped to look back at her. "I...I'm sorry."

Once they disappeared, Natalie was only left alone with her guilt ridden thoughts. She honestly had no idea that something like this would happen. Allow one to live only to have some innocent person to take the fall for it. If she had known all of this could have taken place, Natalie wouldn't have let the girl live. Would she really though? Natalie wasn't to sure how much of her own thoughts were the truth. Regardless of how much Natalie could have known before, she didn't know if that would have changed her mind to save the little girl. Maybe, no matter what, this was supposed to happen. Natalie was supposed to slip up and make a mistake...a huge mistake.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a man, calling out. Looking up, she saw him approaching the room she was still standing in.

"Where's my wife?!"

The look on his face the moment he saw Jolene's lifeless body, was one that Natalie hopes to never see again. Painful denial that was then overcome with tremendous grief. All of those emotions evoked in just a matter of seconds and Natalie was responsible for it.

The man stumbled over to Jolene's side, his hand rested against the side of her cheek, thinking that in some way, she might wake up to it. But, that of course wasn't the case.

Finally building up the courage, Natalie turned around and saw the man clinging onto Jolene's lifeless body, sobbing into her shoulder. Watching the scene unfold, Natalie wanted nothing more than to change what happened. Fix the mistake that she had made. But, no matter what she does from now on, it wasn't going to turn around this outcome.

Her lips pursed together, in an attempt to keep her emotions in line, but standing there watching this, it wasn't making the situation any better. Huffing out a breath, Natalie reluctantly turned away from the room and walked away.

* * *

><p>Standing back in the girls room and even though Natalie had been contemplating her mistake, she still couldn't see herself killing her. It just didn't feel right. It had all been going smoothly at the beginning. Natalie mentally berated herself though for thinking that it was just going to be simple robbers or common heart attacks.<p>

"You saw what happened to the nurse Natalie. Go and kill the girl." Tessa finally spoke, breaking the silence that was between them. "She's disrupting the natural order by being alive. Chaos and sadness will follow her for the rest of her life. We tried it your way. Now we have to do this."

Natalie tiredly shook her head and leaned it against the window of the room. Now she was just to tired to put up an argument with Tessa. That didn't mean she was going to oblige by her terms to quickly though. All she wanted was for this to finally be over with. That way she wouldn't have to kill anymore people, She wouldn't have to make any more mistakes.

Down the sidewalk of the street across from the hospital, Natalie could see a man stumbling in his steps. Taking a closer look, she saw that it was Jolene's husband with a drink in his hands and she knew that this wouldn't end well for him.

"Damn." Natalie silently cursed. Turing around, she quickly walked out of the room.

Tessa had quickly gone after and stood halfway out in the middle of the hallway. "Where are you going?"

"Just wait here Tessa." Natalie called back, not turning to look at her and instead, picked up her pace into a run.

Natalie sprinted down the hallway and through the main lobby and didn't stop until she was standing outside the entrance to the hospital. Down the sidewalk across the road from her, Natalie spotted the man continuing his stumbling walk and she saw that he was making his way towards a car.

Natalie quickly ran across the street and reached the car before he did. _What am I going to do? _Natalie thought frantically to herself. He can't see her and she can't take off the ring or she will lose the bet. Instead, after much debate, she quickly got into the car just as he was.

Placing the bottle between his legs, the man pulled out his keys and struggled to get them in the ignition. Natalie was silently hoping that he would give up or just pass out, but eventually, he got the keys into the ignition and turned on the car.

As he began to drive down the road, Natalie was trying to come up with a plan. _He can't see you. Don't take off the ring or you lose. Don't touch him or he's dead. _There was literally nothing Natalie could do in her situation, except for one thing...she had to take the ring off and she knew it. There was no way she could help him with the ring on. If Natalie was going to make sure that he didn't kill himself, she was going to have to take the ring off.

"Hey. You need to pull the car over." Natalie said, even though she knew that it wouldn't have any effect. Still, she thought that she would try it. "Come on, you are going to kill yourself! You need to stop the car!"

The man picked up the bottle and took a few huge drinks from it and showing no regard that he could hear Natalie talking next to him.

Natalie closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I did this to you...and Jolene. But, you need to pull over!"

The man gripped onto the steering wheel tighter and began to speed up and by the looks of him, Natalie knew that his ability to keep up his attention were really starting to dwindle from the alcohol.

Staring down at the ring, Natalie knew that now she was out of options. She was going to have to take it off. "Please don't make me do this." Natalie silently pleaded, knowing that he wasn't going to hear her.

The speed of the car began to accelerate once again and Natalie knew she had no other choice. "Sorry Sam." Natalie grasped the ring and pulled it off of her finger.

"Stop the car!" Natalie called out.

"What the hell?!" The man called out and turned the steering wheel by accident, mostly because Natalie scared the shit out of him. The car turned towards an electrical pole and collided with it.

Natalie felt her body surge forward towards the dashboard, the sound of breaking glass and crunching metal emanated the memories she had of that night she and Andrew were in that car accident. Leaning her head up, Natalie hissed at the throbbing she felt on the side of her head. Looking over, the man was leaned up against the steering wheel and she reached over, pressing her fingers against the side of his neck and was able to feel a pulse.

_He's alive._

Natalie turned to the passenger door, which had been severely bent, and tried to open it but ended up having to kick it open. Stepping out with her hand to her head, Natalie looked around, already feeling the defeat of losing the bet.

"Tessa?! I lost! I took off the damn ring." Natalie's voice wavered at the end, causing her to hang her head. "Do you hear me?!" She called out again, only to remember that she had taken off the ring. Natalie sighed and slid the ring back on her finger and saw Tessa standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry you lost the bet." Tessa said. "I know you were just trying to help Sam."

Natalie scoffed, blinking back the tears that had started to form out of her frustration. "Yeah, well, you were right. If I had just listened to you...stuck with the people who needed to die...none of this would have happened."

"You are resilient. I give you that. You did what you thought was right.."

"Yeah, but, I managed to screw up. Jolene was never supposed to get caught up in all of this. And because of my decision..." Natalie stopped and pursed her lips. "We need to get back to the hospital."

Tessa gave Natalie a confused look. "Natalie. We're done. The bet is over."

Natalie shook her head. "No. There's something that I need to do before I leave."

* * *

><p>The room was still, the soft breathing coming from both the father and girl and the steady beeping from the heart monitor. In just a matter of minutes, it will all turn to chaos.<p>

Natalie walked over to the side of the bed and knelt down next to the father. Looking at his face, it was easy for her to see the relief that she saw. He was relieved that his daughter was finally getting better and that they would be able to go on those trips he talked about. But, none of that was going to happen and it would be Natalie who would ensure that it wouldn't.

"I'm sorry. I am really...really sorry. But, you might want to wake up. Say your last goodbyes."

Natalie stood back up and touched the girl's hand and walked back over to the foot of the bed upon hearing the heart monitor going off. The little girl was standing next to Natalie, watching the scene of nurses trying to revive her.

"I'm dead?"

Natalie looked down at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but you are."

"But...what about my dad? What's going to happen to him?"

Natalie looked over at the father who was trying to be consoled out in the hallway. "He'll be fine. It won't be easy for him...but, he'll get through it."

"But...I can't just leave him. He needs me. This isn't fair!"

Natalie knelt down next to her, so that she was leveled at the same height. "I know. It's not fair to either of you. And I wish it didn't have to be this way. But...there's this thing called the Natural Order...and if it's not in the right...sync...then a lot of bad things happen."

"Natural order is stupid."

Natalie smiled faintly at her resilience. "Yeah. It does."

Tessa placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Come on Hilary. It's time to go."

Natalie took a moment and looked back at the scene that was still unfolding in the hospital room. The nurses trying to revive her and the father, starting to break down. She would have given anything for it to not end like this.

Finally, she had decided that it was enough. There was no use in torturing herself by watching all of this any longer. Natalie finally walked out into the hallway and slowly made her way back towards the main lobby.

_What am I going to tell them?"_

What exactly was Natalie going to say to them? Dean, especially. She knew that Sam was really iffy on getting his soul back, but Dean, he just wanted his brother to be all right. Now Natalie has destroyed really their only chance on helping Sam. How was she supposed to look at Dean and tell them how miserable she failed? Right now, all she wanted was to get back to the car and go to Bobby's. She will figure out what she's going to say on the way there, though she knew it wouldn't be any use.

* * *

><p>Parking the car near the garage, Natalie turned off the engine and settled back against her seat. The entire drive was only consisted of Natalie scolding herself. <em>Why didn't you just listen to Tessa? <em>

"Might as well get this over with." Natalie pulled the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car.

Though the first thing that caught her attention was that the Impala was nowhere in sight. _Dean probably just went out._ Natalie thought to herself as she closed the car door.

Walking around the car, she began to make her way up to the front but when she looked up, the door was halfway open. That caused her to stop in her tracks. "What the hell?" Natalie cautiously walked up onto the porch and peered in through the space, though she didn't see anything...and that unnerved her.

Pressing her hand against the door, Natalie pushed it open allowing herself to walk in. "Bobby?!" Natalie called out only to be met with silence. She took a few steps into the house and began to make her way into the kitchen. "Sam?!"

Once in the kitchen, Natalie noticed that there was quite a bit of mess on the floor. As she continued on through the house she came upon one of the closet doors and it had been hacked. Literally, hacked to almost nothing and a little bit away the door that led to the basement was left open. _What is going on?_

"Bobby?! Sam?!" Natalie called out, this time her voice sounded a little more panicked. Neither of them would just leave doors open like this and what the hell was up with the destroyed closet door?

From outside, Natalie heard the quick but faint sound of one of the garage doors opening and closing. For a second she was relieved at the thought that they were probably just out there. But, what happened in the house?

Natalie made her way over to the front door and looked out onto the lawn, but saw no one. Her body immediately went tense and she reached back for her gun and pulled it out, cocking it in the process. Taking a quick sweep, Natalie then walked off of the porch and began to make her way over to the garage.

Inching closer to the building, she didn't see anything that looked like a struggle, unlike what it looked like back at the house. "Bobby? Sam?" Her voice came through louder than she had anticipated.

Finally reaching one of the doors, Natalie raised her hand to open it when the sound of footsteps came up from behind her. Her hand, consciously tightened its hold on the gun as she spun around. But, she was met with an incredible force that went across the face. Natalie stumbled back against the side of the building, her head throbbing and her vision had blurred from the hit.

Looking up she could see the outline was someone standing in front of her and as her vision began to go in and out of focus, it gave her enough time to see that it was Sam.

Natalie quickly raised a hand out to him and dropped her gun. "Sam...don't..." Natalie was silenced by another punch that Sam had thrown at her. A strong, iron flavor flooded her mouth and a stinging, burning sensation was spreading throughout her face.

Sam grabbed Natalie by the collar jacket and she soon found herself staring up at him. Eyes hard with determination and ruthlessness and she could feel her guilt for not winning dig deeper. This was the Sam she and the others would have to deal with because of her mistake.

"Sam..." Natalie faintly whispered. "...please, don't." Natalie was only praying that she could somehow talk through to him, but as his fist came up again she knew there was no point. With that, Natalie felt another force cut down on her and everything went black.

* * *

><p><em>"Nad. Hey. Come on, wake up."<em>

A gentle tapping against the side of her face woke Natalie up and she let out a hiss as Dean continued his tapping. "D-dean...stop..."

Dean ceased his tapping when he realized it was on the side of her face where the damage was. "Sorry, Nad. You all right?"

Natalie groaned, not able to say much. Her head was still pounding from Sam's hits and she could feel that the blood had dried in and around her mouth.

"Okay." Dean knelt down next to her, wrapped his arm around her back. "I'm going to get you back up on your feet."

Natalie only groaned in response.

"All right." Dean gently stood himself back up, but pulled Natalie along with him, easily.

Natalie then let out a panicked sound. "Dean...s-sam...where..."

"It's okay, Nad. I got here just in time." Dean pulled Natalie closer to him as he began to walk them back to the house. "Bobby and I got him down in the panic room."

Natalie huffed in approval then rested her head against Dean's shoulder.

"It was crazy Nad. He had Bobby tied up in the garage. Doing only god knows what." Dean added as he took the porch steps one at a time to give Natalie time to take the steps herself.

"I'm gonna get you to the bathroom. We gotta get you cleaned up." Dean tightened his hold on Natalie and quickened his pace until they finally reached the bathroom. Walking in, Dean put down the toilet seat with his foot and then brought Natalie around, gently setting her down.

Natalie, upon feeling herself sitting down, allowed her body to slump in its posture. The sound of the faucet going on acted almost like a calming mechanism, something that she could easily fall asleep to, which she could. Her head was still throbbing and sleep sounded like paradise right now.

Dean knelt in front of Natalie and now that they were in a good source of light, he was able to get a better look at her face. Her lip had a deep split that was caked in dried blood and her left cheek was just starting to turn purple. Dean clenched his jaw at the sight and then pressed the rag to her lip which made Natalie hum in pain.

"Sorry." Dean spoke as he began to wipe at the dried blood around her mouth. "So, what happened? Can you tell me?"

Natalie cleared her throat a couple of times. "I came back...saw that you were gone. Uh...went inside saw the house was just wrecked. Went outside and Sam just started wailing on me. That's the shortened version."

Dean turned away to rinse off the rag and then went back to cleaning, this time wiping off the blood and dirt on her cheek. Natalie closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of the warm rag against her face. "What about the whole thing with being Death?"

Natalie felt her body go tense and her eyes slowly opened. "I screwed up."

Dean's brows creased at her words. "What do you mean?" He asked, finishing up the cleaning.

"I took off the ring."

Dean stared at Natalie, having think for a while to remember what the deal was and his head nodded in realization. He tossed the rag into the sink and then knelt back down in front of her. "What happened?"

Natalie sighed and hissed at the tingling she felt in her cheek. "I messed up Dean...really badly. There was this little girl. Had a bad heart problem. She was one of the people that I was supposed to kill. But...I couldn't. She and her father...they were all they had...it was each other. I couldn't just take that away from them."

Dean nodded in his own agreement.

"So, I told Tessa that she wasn't going to die...I refused to do it. And because of that...this nurse left to go home early...and she got into a car accident. She didn't make it." Natalie paused to see Dean's reaction and his face was just still though sympathetic. "Her husband came in and he saw her...I watched him grieve for his wife who was never supposed to be involved in any of this! But, because of my choices an innocent woman had to lose her life."

Natalie swallowed back the sob that she felt had been stuck in her throat. "Her husband just went downhill. I saw him drinking and he got behind the wheel of his car. Naturally, I went with him but of course since I had the ring on, he couldn't hear or see me and I couldn't touch him or else he would have died. So...I had no other choice...I had to take off the ring. I couldn't just let him kill himself." Natalie slumped over to bury her face in her hands, not caring about whether she was putting up a scene or not.

Dean sighed heavily, his hand rubbed across his forehead. He wasn't angry, god no. If anything, he was upset with what Natalie had to go through. One of the many reasons why he had wished that he had done this, not her. But, he can relate to that kind of guilt that she was feeling.

Dean rested his hand on her back, giving her a few comforting rubs. "You know I can kind of relate to that. When I was in hell...I just, tore souls up like it was nothing. But, I feel that guilt everyday. The fact that I caused so much pain to all of those souls...I'll never get over it. I have to live with. We both now know what that's like."

"It's not just what happened to that nurse." Natalie said into her hands. "I lost the bet. Sam isn't getting his soul back Dean. We have to deal with whatever he is now. And it's all my fault."

Dean braced his hands on the sides of her face, making sure to be careful with her left side then lifted her head up so she was looking at him. "None of this was your fault. You did what I think anyone would do in your case. You're not Death, Natalie. And if you think I'm pissed or I blame you...I don't. We'll figure something else out."

Natalie answered Dean's words with a scoff of skepticism.

"Hey." Dean said. "What have we learned from last year? There is always another way. We learned that quite a few times. So we couldn't get Sam's soul back from Death...we'll find another way. All right?"

Natalie sighed, still doubtful about them finding another way, but Dean's optimism was so sincere. She didn't know whether he to believed it or whether he was just saying it to make her feel better. Either way, Natalie nodded her head which Dean was pleased to see.

Dean leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. "It's gonna be okay, Nad."

"Okay." Natalie whispered.

Dean stood back up and cleared his throat. "Just stay up here and relax Nad. I'm gonna go talk to Bobby."

Natalie nodded silently and watched as Dean left the bathroom. Sighing to herself, she stood up from the toilet seat and stood in front of the mirror. What she saw made her suck in a breath. The split in her lip was raw and pink, with new blood appearing but not seeping out and her left cheek. That's what she thought was the worst. It was almost to the point of being dark purple and it was slightly swollen. _This was all from Sam. _

Natalie shook her head and switched off the bathroom light then walked out. She needed something to drink, try and get her mind off of all that had happened. Reaching the kitchen, she was startled to find Death sitting at the table, eating a hot dog.

"Natalie. Please join me." Death pulls out a hot bog from the go-to box and set it near an empty chair. "These are from a little stand in Los Angeles known for their bacon dogs."

Natalie, without much nervousness or hesitation, walked over to the chair and sat down, but didn't touch the hot dog. Her appetite wasn't exactly at its strongest. "You really like cheap food, don't you?"

"It does help quench the cravings." Death commented before taking another bite. "Thought that I would have one last treat before putting the ring back on."

Natalie pulled the ring out from her pocket and placed it down on the table, not really wanting to hold onto it anymore.

"Heavier than it looks, isn't it? Sometimes, you just want the thing off. But you know that."

"Yeah." Natalie said. "I failed. I lost the bet. It's not easy being you...I don't get how you are able to do it."

"Years and years of practice." Death said. "So tell me, if you could go back, would you kill the little girl right away? No fuss?"

Natalie blinked a couple of times, not sure on the answer. She hadn't really been able to figure it out for herself. "Yeah, I would." She finally said, not sure if she actually believed it.

"Either way, if you mean it or not, I'm glad to hear it."

"But, I would have also saved that nurse." Natalie quickly added.

"Well, I think it's a little more than that. Today, Natalie, you got a hard look behind the curtain. Wrecking the natural order's not quite such fun, especially, when you have to mop up the mess. I know all of this is hard for you. You risk your life to save Sam because you thought it would be easy. But, it wasn't. The human soul is not some rubber ball. It's vulnerable, impermanent, but stronger than you know. So...I'd like to think you learned something today."

"You knew didn't you?" Natalie suddenly asked and looked up at him.

"Knew what?"

"You knew that I would slip up somehow so you rigged the whole damn thing. Didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about Natalie."

Natalie let out a scoff. "Whatever. Just have the courtesy to tell me the truth."

"You know Natalie most people talk to me with a lot more respect than that."

Natalie shifted in her seat, mentally berating herself for saying that. "I'm sorry..."

"Those are some nasty lacerations you have there." Death said, scanning over her face. "Were those from Sam?"

Natalie remained silent, but moved her gaze away from him.

"That's a shame. Well, it's been a pleasure Natalie." Death said, picking up his. "Now, I'm going to tell to get Sam's soul back."

Natalie's face lightened as she looked back up at him. "What? But, I lost the bet."

"Well don't get to sentimental. You and the Winchesters act as a balance for everything. And you three cause global disruptions. But, the three of you have use. Right now, you three are doing more good than bad. Keep it up."

Natalie sighed in relief, a small smile crossing her lips. "Thank you."

Death went to put on his ring when Natalie stopped him. "Wait, Sam. The wall thing. Will it actually work?"

"I call it 75%." Death answered. "Good luck Natalie." Slipping on his ring Death then disappeared.

Natalie let out a small laugh, still in disbelief over the fact that Death was still going to get Sam's soul. This wasn't something she expected at all. Natalie then turned around and took off towards the basement.

"Dean! Bobby!" She called out once she reached the bottom of the steps and it caused both men to jump. "Open the door!" She yelled out as she walked towards them.

"Wait, what?" Bobby asked.

"Open the door!"

Bobby and Dean share a quick glance before walking over to the panic room door and opened it. The three of them saw Death approaching Sam, who was tied down on the cot."

"No! Get away from me!" Sam called out.

"Now, Sam, I'm gonna put up a barrier inside your mind. It might feel a little...itchy. Do me a favor...don't scratch the wall. Trust me...you're not gonna like what happens."

Sam looked over at the doorway, seeing the three of them watching him. "Please, don't let him do this! Nad. Dean. You have no idea what it will do to me! Please!"

Natalie kept her gaze on Sam, not making any kind of movement and she didn't say anything. Her eyes flickered over to Death, who something out of his bag and it didn't take much to know that it was Sam's soul. Biting down on her lip, Natalie's eyes widened slightly as Death pushed the soul into Sam's chest. Hearing Sam's screams, Natalie for a brief second, could feel herself beginning to doubt that the wall would work. But, as long as Sam didn't poke at it, he would be fine. He had to be.

* * *

><p><strong>So! How did you all like it?! So the next chapter Nad and Sam will have a proper reunion and it's about time! I missed writing cute Nad and Sam scenes. Also I was wondering, regarding to what Death told Natalie last chapter and what Tessa said to her, do YOU guys have any predictions as to what might happen to Nad? If you do then post in the review, I'd love to see your ideas!<strong>

**Until next time! Xx**


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: Yay finally I get to write a chapter with Natalie and Sam, not Soulless Sam (even though I love soulless Sam, is that weird?) I got this chapter done pretty quickly because I am free from the chains of school (at least for this weekend). Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Natalie applied a bit more pressure to the ice pack against her cheek and gave a cringe. The past few days, her left cheek had swelled and Dean was adamant that she keep an ice pack to her cheek to help keep the swelling down. Usually, when he would convey that kind of brotherly-worry Natalie was quick to go against it, but, she wasn't to keen on arguing with him. Instead, she felt that doing what he said, without argument, was the best choice.<p>

Both Dean and Natalie were standing outside of the panic room. Castiel was currently inside with Sam, who was still unconscious, taking a quick 'look' to see that Sam's soul was indeed in tact. Having Castiel here, checking Sam, gave both Natalie and Dean some hopeful reassurance.

It had been days-more like ten days- since Death put Sam's soul back and he was still unconscious and it only made both of them become antsy. It made them increasingly paranoid, more like it, to the thought that Sam's mind was just going to collapse right then and there. He was going to remain in this coma state while his mind deteriorated. They just wanted him to wake up.

The panic room door opened and Castiel walked out, pulling his coat sleeve back down. "His soul is in place."

Dean peered into the room at his unconscious brother and looked expectantly at Castiel. "Is he ever going to wake up?"

"I'm not a human doctor Dean." Castiel responded, his tone a little hard.

"You could at least take a guess." Dean pressed again.

"Okay, then." Castiel turned to look at him. "Probably not."

Natalie let out a scoff and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Cas, don't try and ease the information onto us."

Castiel looked back at Natalie, giving her a look. "I'm sorry. But, I warned _both _of you not to put that thing back in him."

"Well, we had no choice." Natalie pulled the ice pack away from her face. "We couldn't just let Sam walk around with no soul. Just look what he did to Bobby...hell look what he did to me." Natalie said, pointing at her face. "Like hell we were gonna leave him like that."

Castiel's expression softened but there was still a hardness in his eyes. "I can take care of that if you want me to Natalie." Castiel said, raising his hand to her.

Natalie immediately backed away and pressed the ice pack back to her face. "I don't need you to take care of this Cas."

Castiel ceased his advancement towards her and slowly dropped his hand. "I know you both only want what's best for Sam. But, I am saying that putting his soul back was not the wisest decision. You want to know what his soul felt like, when I touched it? It felt like it had been skinned alive."

Natalie visibly shook and closed her eyes. Great, now he was just making her regret ever going through with getting Sam's soul break.

"Like Nad said." Dean said to Castiel. "We couldn't leave him like that."

Castiel narrowed his eyes at Dean and shook his head. "If you wanted to kill your brother Dean, you should have done it outright."

Natalie heard the fluttering of wings and when she looked back up, Castiel was gone. Her eyes fell upon Sam's figure lying on the cot and that combined with Castiel's words, her enthusiastic approach to 'Sam will make it' was starting to dwindle.

The silence made Natalie look over at Dean and she could see him pensively looking at Sam. If it was hard for her to deal with, Natalie could only imagine what Dean must be feeling right now. The slightest possibility that Sam wouldn't recover from this was something they couldn't fathom, but it was a scenario that they had to prepare for. Even if this wall could keep out Sam's memories, there could come a time when it cracks and Sam's life would be on the line.

Natalie sighed and pulled the pack away, once again, and began to fumble with it. Most of the ice had melted and was now nothing but a dripping mess. "Dean?"

Dean kept his eyes glued on Sam, but hummed, showing that he had heard her.

"Are you all right?"

Dean remained quiet, mulling over Natalie's words. No, he wasn't all right. He was worried. Beyond worried actually and he knew there was no point in telling her. Dean knew that Natalie was just as worried as he was. There was no use in making her feel even worse.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean finally answered.

Natalie continued staring at Dean, knowing that his words were far from the truth. No matter how much she wanted to, Natalie decided not to push him.

"I'm...I'm gonna get some air." Natalie turned around and as quick as she could, climbed up the stairs, not giving Dean any other remark.

* * *

><p><em>"How is Sam doing?" <em>

Natalie sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "He still hasn't woken up. We actually don't know when he'll wake up. For all we know...his mind could be collapsing right now."

_"Nad, don't say that. You and Dean don't know what's going to happen. You just need to remain optimistic." _

"It's kind of hard to do that when everyone else seems to be against this whole thing. I mean, Cas was against it. Hell even Crowley and Death warned about it."

_"Everything they told you were just warnings. Did they once say that something definitely would happen to Sam." _

Natalie thought for a moment and bit down on her bottom lip. "Not really. It's just...Dean and I wanted to help Sam. That's all we wanted. And now, his sanity is on the line because of that."

_"Sam is gonna be fine Nad. He's been through a lot and he always seems to just bounce back from it." _

"Aunt Clara...that's doesn't really mean anything. The wall in his mind...it can still crack. It can break down and...who knows what that will do to him."

_"But, there is no guarantees that will happen. Nad, all you need to do is be there for him when he wakes up. After that, you all just need to take it one day at a time. Make sure that he's all right. That's all really you can do. But, you need to stop worrying so much. You have done enough of that." _

Natalie laid her arm on her knees then leaned forward, resting her forehead against her arm. "I know. How have you been? How's the search?"

_"We have managed to find some leads, but still haven't been able to get to Aaron. It's tiring Nad." _

"I'm sorry I can't be there to help. You should just take a break from it. Go back home, see Mari and Emily. I'm sure taking some time off will help."

_"Maybe I will. But, right now David, Jake and I are finishing up a few things. By the way, Mari was talking out going back to Massachusetts. Maybe rent a boat...go touring around the bay again." _

Natalie smiled, the memories of going on her Uncle's boat as a kid were starting to come back to her. "I would love to do that again. It's been a long time since we went back to Dennis."

_"Maybe soon we can make that trip. Get away from all of this." _

"That sounds like a good plan to me."

_"I'm gonna let you go Nad. Please try and get some rest. And try not to worry so much. Sam's gonna get through it. Love you." _

"Love you too." Natalie answered back then leaned away and ended the call.

Natalie pressed the top of her cell phone against her lips and let out a deep sigh. Sitting there on the front porch, Natalie felt a small chill run down her spine as the wind began to pick up. All she could think about was when Sam will wake up. She just wanted to see him back on his feet...she wanted to see the real Sam. For a whole year, she had grieved for him and haunted by the thought that she would never see him again. And then, to find out that he was alive, not only alive, but soulless, all of this wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

More than anything, she wanted to get back to where they both were before. They had virtually no time together before he jumped into the pit. Natalie wanted to have that chance with him, but as of now, Sam just needed to wake up. He needed to be monitored, make sure that he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the wall's job.

Natalie gently licked at the sore split on her lip and stood up from the porch. Turning around, she walked back into the house and quietly closed the door. As she made her way towards the kitchen, Natalie slid her phone back into her pocket and headed right for the fridge. _I need a drink. _

_"What about Nad?" _

At the sound of her name, Natalie immediately stopped, recognizing the voice as Sam's. Looking into the living room, she saw Dean with Bobby and Sam and her mouth fell open.

Bobby saw Natalie standing in the kitchen and then motioned for Sam to turn around. Sam, at first, gave Bobby a confused look, but he turned around nonetheless and saw Natalie staring at him, though he was completely caught off guard by the condition of her face.

Natalie could feel nothing except for extreme relief. Just by the way he was looking at her, Natalie knew that it was Sam. And by the small look he had on his face when he saw her, she knew that he was surprised by the lacerations on her face. _I'm gonna need to come up with an explanation._

"Hey, Nad."

Natalie let out a shaky breath at him saying her name. It was so different now. Compared to how he had been talking to her the past few months. Every time he called her Nad, she could hear the emotionless in his voice and now that was not the case.

"Hey, Sam." Natalie barely managed to say, though it came out more as a choke than anything else.

Sam walked towards Natalie and she wanted to do the same but it felt like her feet were stuck to the floor. She couldn't move. His arms wrapped around her in a tight and secure hold. At first, she remained still, not able to comprehend that Sam was awake now and he no longer was soulless.

Recovering from her initial shock, Natalie slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a shaky breath. This was the first time since, before Sam jumped in the pit, that she was able to have genuine physical contact with him. Even when she went back on the road with him and Dean, she never touched him and he never touched her. Other than maybe an occasional nudge or him pulling her arm to go in a certain direction. None of it had any kind of emotion or attachment.

If there was one thing she missed about that, it was his hugs. As cliché as it may sound, that was the one thing Natalie loved most. The way that he would hold her, his arms securing around her, keeping her safe. Whether it was to provide some kind of comfort or reassurance, she had always felt like she could block out the world as long as Sam had her in his arms.

Natalie pressed her lips together, feeling the tears beginning to form in her eyes, she tried desperately to hold them back, but they spilled eventually. Closing her eyes, Natalie buried her face into Sam's shoulder, muffling the small sob that managed to slip out.

Sam's own hold on Natalie tightened at feeling her shake in his arms. "It's okay, Nad. I'm here."

Natalie's arms around his neck tightened, to the point that she was merely clutching onto him, and then nodded her head. "You're here." Natalie whispered against his shoulder, making it only audible to him.

Sam's lips twitched into a brief smile as he nestled his face into the side of her neck, giving her a few rubs on her back. "I'm here."

He had to admit, it felt really good just to see Natalie. The last image he had of Natalie was her leaning up against the Impala, hands desperately pressing against the wounds that Lucifer had inflicted on her. Seeing her, up on her feet and well, aside from the condition of her face, made him more relieved than he ever thought.

Natalie moved her face away from his shoulder and opened her eyes, seeing Bobby and Dean still staring at them. In all honesty, she had completely forgotten that they were still here and this only caused her to let out a wet laugh. She loosened her hold around him, which prompted him to do the same, and she pulled away, her hands resting on his shoulders.

Though now, Sam was able to get a good look at her face and he immediately cringed. He raised his hand and gently took hold of her chin. "What happened, Nad?"

Natalie, who had been silently relishing at his touch, blinked a couple of times. "It's...it's nothing."

Sam shook his head, not willing to let this go so easily. "That doesn't look like nothing. It looks really bad to me, what happened?"

Natalie looked past Sam at Dean, who was slowly shaking his head, begging her to not tell him anything. She didn't want Sam to know that he was responsible for this. Natalie knew the risks of him knowing anything that happened, but, there was still that small part of her that wanted to tell him.

Natalie cleared her throat and took hold of Sam's hand that was holding her chin. "It's really nothing, Sam. I was just being...stupid. That's all." Looking up, she could see that he was about to put up another argument. "You can't worry about me...we need to worry about you."

"Yeah, Nad's right Sam." Dean spoke up, hoping to keep Sam was questioning the matter of her lacerations any further. "Are you all right?"

Sam looked back at Dean, his hand grasping onto Natalie's. "Yeah...actually, I'm starving."

* * *

><p>Natalie, Dean and Bobby all sit in silence, watching as Sam ate his sandwich. Not that it amused them, it was the fact that Sam literally didn't seem to remember anything. Nothing from his time of being soulless or the fact that he almost wasted Bobby not to long ago or that he was the one who caused Natalie's injuries. He had no clue.<p>

"So, Sam..." Dean said, deciding to begin his little interrogation.

Sam looked up at him, chewing his food. "Yeah?"

"What was the last thing you remembered?"

Sam took a moment as the memories from what happened in the field began to come back. "Everything that happened in the field. And then I fell."

Dean gave a quick nod. "Okay, and?"

Sam shrugged lightly. "Then I woke up in the panic room." Sam finished, taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"That's it?" Bobby asked in disbelief. "You really don't remember anything?"

"Well, let's be glad." Dean quickly intervened. "I mean who wants to remember all that hell."

Sam huffed out a laugh. "Well, how long was I gone?"

"About a year and a half." Dean answered.

Sam's face fell into immediate shock and bewilderment. "What? I was downstairs for-I don't remember anything. So, how'd I get back? Was it Cas?"

Dean pursed his lips. "Not exactly." He said, looking over at Natalie.

Sam moved his gaze onto Natalie, who looked up at him, and he could see that she had done something and it made him nervous. "Nad. What did you do?"

Natalie sighed heavily and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I was able to strike a deal with Death..."

"Death?!" Sam interrupted. "Death. The Horseman?"

"Sam, it's all right. Really. I had some leverage on him and he and I were able to work out a deal. Everything is fine."

Sam narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Are you sure?"

Natalie gave him a nod. "Yes. It's all been wiped."

"Yeah, for once, we don't own anybody anything." Dean added.

Bobby casually rolled his eyes. "Well, isn't this all neat and clean."

"Yes, it is. For once." Dean said, looking over at Bobby.

Sam watched the interaction for a second, seeing the looks on all of their faces made him a little curious. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Dean looked back at Sam and shook his head. "No."

Sam looked expectantly at Natalie who gave him a small smile and shook her head. "No. There's nothing."

"You want another beer?" Dean asked, motioning towards Sam's almost empty bottle.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

* * *

><p>"Is Sam still asleep?" Dean asked Natalie, who threw her bag into the back of the Impala.<p>

"Yeah. Last time I checked he was sound asleep." She answered turning to him.

"Yeah, just let him rest. We'll just call him later once we get there." Dean said.

"Call me from where?"

Dean, Bobby and Natalie look over to see Sam, with his bag hanging on his shoulder. "Oh. Uh, there's this thing in Oregon. We were gonna go and check it out." Dean answered.

Sam nodded. "Great, I'm in then."

"Sam, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean you did just get back up on your feet." Natalie said.

"Exactly. I'm good. I'm up and moving."

"Well, maybe a few more days of just laying low wouldn't hurt." Dean added.

"Right. Because that's what you did when you got back from hell." Sam lightly retorted.

Dean sighed and gave in. "Fine. The four of us."

"Actually, you three go ahead." Bobby said, before pulling his bag out of the car. "You three got this covered. I forgot that I promised Rufus I'd work the phones for him."

Natalie and Dean both gave Bobby a look. "You sure?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. You guys go on and enjoy catching up, okay?" Bobby gave them each a pat on the shoulders before walking back to the house.

Sam turned to look at Bobby and huffed. "What was that all about?"

"One part age, three parts liquor. Come on, let's get going."

* * *

><p>"Okay, so, two girls disappear within a three week time span. One of them went, was in that plane crash and then the other didn't make it home." Sam said as the three of them got out of the Impala.<p>

"Do the two girls know each other?" Dean asked as they began to make their way up to a house.

"No, There is no connection between them. Both of them were young, females."

"So, whose house are we visiting again?" Natalie asked.

"Uh. Penny Dessertines' house." Sam responded. "She has a sister, thinking we could probably talk with her, see what she knows."

The three of them quickly make their way up the porch steps and Dean quickly knocks on the door. Not long after, the door opened and they were met with a young woman. "Hi. You're uh...Penny Dessertine's sister, right?"

The woman nodded.

"Uh, we'd just like to ask you a few questions." Sam added.

"Look, the cops already came by. I'm tired. So, if you don't mind..."

"I understand. Really, I do. I know how hard this must be. We'd just like to figure out what happened. This will be quick. I promise." Dean and Natalie both share a look, thinking that they were glad to see Sam as his usual self again.

The woman finally relented and opened the door for them. "Fine. Come in."

"So, what exactly did you want to talk about?" The woman asked once she had closed the door behind them.

"Well, can you tell us what she was doing in that plane in the first place?" Sam asked.

The woman sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "I don't know why. Penny was nothing what you would call adventurous. Not at all."

"So like, flying in a two seated plane through a lightning storm, wasn't really her thing?" Dean asked.

The woman scoffed. "No. She hated that thing so much. But, she did it for Stan."

Natalie gave the woman a curious. "Who's Stan?"

"He was Penny's boyfriend. They were just starting to get really serious. And he was always talking about taking her up in that plane. And she didn't want to seem like she was...not interested. So she agreed to go with him. Have you managed to find anything yet?"

Sam gave her a sympathetic look but shook his head. "No, not yet. But, we will let you know if there are any further developments."

"Is that all you need to know for now? Like I said, I already spoke with the police."

"Uh, yeah, that will be all. Thank you for your time."

* * *

><p>Sam and Natalie were sitting quietly at the table in their motel, both of them searching through various sources for any kind of connection or reasoning for why these girls would be taken. Sam look up at Natalie who was too engrossed in her research, but he couldn't stop looking at her bruised cheek and her busted lip. It bothered him that something or someone did that to her and he wasn't there to stop it.<p>

Natalie could Sam's eyes on her and she casually looked over at him, seeing his fixed stare on her and she knew why. "Sam, you know staring at my face is not going to make all of this go away." She said, gesturing at her cheek and lip.

"I just want to know what happened Nad. Why can't you just tell me that?"

Natalie sighed and gathered up the papers that were in front of her. "Because, it's not important Sam."

"No, it is important, because you got hurt. And I want to know who did it."

Natalie pursed her lips and sighed. _If only you knew. _Natalie ran a hand down her face and then reached over, taking Sam's hand into hers. "Sam, I promise, it's not important. I got into a little bit of a...situation...that's all. I was stupid. It's really no big deal. Don't worry about it, please."

Seeing the silent pleading in her eyes, Sam reluctantly nodded his head. He was willing to not mention it, for now at least. Mentally, he promised that he would find out what happened.

The door to the motel room opened and Dean walked in with food that he had gone out to get. "Hey. What did you two find?"

Natalie removed her hand from Sam's grasp and settled back against her chair. "Well, it looks like those other two missing girls both baked cookies for the lord." Sam answered.

Dean sat down at the table, with the food, and shrugged. "So what is that? A code?"

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "No. Church choir, their bake sales, promise ring clubs, pretty much the entire package. They were good girls basically."

"-But, Penny wasn't even a Christian." Sam added.

Dean nodded and shrugged off his jacket. "I have another theory." He said as he pulled out a diary. "Penny's diary."

Sam and Natalie both gave Dean a look. "Did you steal that from her room?" Sam asked.

Dean looked up at him and smiled. "I'm glad that you even asked me that."

"And why wouldn't I?" Sam asked, leaning back in his chair.

Dean shrugged off Sam's question. "No reason. So, the girl-nappings. What if it's not about religion, what if it's about purity?"

Sam thought on this for a moment. "What you mean you think they are..."

"Virgins, Sam, virgins."

"Penny was twenty-two." Sam said.

Dean gave him a shrug. "Yeah, so. With a pink room and stuffed teddy bears."

Sam nodded and gave a slight roll of his eyes. "But, you really think..."

Dean held up a finger for Sam to stop as he picked out a selection from Penny's diary. "I've decided I'm going to give Stan my most precious gift."

Natalie's brows shot up as she gave Dean an amused look. "Wow. that sounded really creepy coming out of your mouth." Sam answered, which caused Natalie to snort.

"I think I delivered it."

Natalie let out another laugh and rolled her eyes. "Okay, then. Now let's back track. If they were all virgins...what exactly would want anything to do with virgins?" Natalie asked.

Dean shook his head. "You got me Nad. But, I prefer ladies with experience."

Natalie closed her eyes. "That's a really nice image, Dean. Thanks."

* * *

><p><strong>So, what did you all think? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: So what did you all think of that premiere episode! I feel so conflicted about demon!dean. Like at first I was entertained but the minute he showed no kind of concern for Sam and that just broke my heart! But, I am so excited for what is to come for the rest of season 10!_

_Also on a related note, I finally created a blog for my stories. I'll put a link up on my profile for you all to go and check it out! Now onto the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>"So, what was the call you got from the police?" Natalie asked as her, Dean and Sam made their way up to the door of a hospital room.<p>

"Report of a young woman getting attacked, but she managed to get away." Dean answered.

"Seems like it's lacking a few details. Guessing she hasn't really said anything for the reports yet." Natalie commented.

"Well, that's why we're here." Dean reached for the door handle and slowly opened it, peering his head in and then opened it all the way for Sam and Natalie to walk in.

"Excuse me, Melissa Carter?" Dean questioned only to have the woman giving him a small nod. Dean offered her a quick smile as the three of them pull out their badges. "We're here to ask you a few questions about the attack."

Melissa sighed and rested her head back against the pillow, though her eyes immediately went to Natalie and her brows furrowed. "What happened to your face?" She asked.

Natalie pursed her lips and cleared her throat, with a quick side glance she saw Sam giving her a faint expectant look. "Got into a little altercation. Not the important thing to worry about right now."

"We just need you to tell us what happened." Dean said.

Melissa took in a breath. "I was walking home, after having a study night with my friends. And as I was walking, I heard something and it came after me...and it just all happened so fast."

"It's okay Melissa. What exactly came at you? You can tell us." Sam said, hoping that the reassurance in his voice would ease her mind.

"It looked like a...like a giant bat. That's the best way for me to describe it." When she didn't receive a comment, Melissa looked over at them seeing the looks she was getting. "You think I'm making it up, right? That's exactly what I thought would happen."

"We never said that." Sam said.

"It came right at me. It was huge. I am telling the truth. That's how I got this." Melissa turned a little more onto her stomach to reveal the wounds on her back.

The three of them viewed the wounds silently and nodded their heads. "So, it attacked you. And then what happened." Sam asked, gently pressing the question on her.

"I don't know." Melissa said as she settled back into her bed. "I passed out, and when I woke up, it was gone."

"Is there anything else that you should tell us? Anything that might seem important...or even if it doesn't seem important." Natalie spoke up.

Melissa absentmindedly rubbed her finger. "Well, my ring got lost. Or else that thing stole it, if that makes any sense."

"What kind of ring?" Dean asked.

"Gold. It was my promise ring."

Dean nodded. "A promise ring. So, uh, a promise ring from a church? Like a purity ring?"

Melissa gave him a confused look and nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Dean bit down on his lip. "I got to ask. Uh, Melissa...just to let you know, nobody is judging anybody here, okay? Believe me. But...should you really be wearing that ring?"

"Dean." Natalie quietly warned.

Melissa looked from Natalie and then to Dean, her expression taking on a little bit of panic. "Well, I mean...I-I am..."

Dean narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Are you really?"

Melissa blinked a couple of times, swallowing down her nervousness. But, having all of them looking at her was making her even more paranoia. "Matt Barne didn't count!"

Natalie's eyes widened and her brows raised at Melissa's confession. "Well, then..."

Melissa took in a breath. "He didn't count..." She said, though it was more to herself then to them. "Is that all you need to know?"

Sam gave a quick nod. "Yes, uh, thank you."

The three of them quickly made their way out of the hospital with Sam shutting the door. As they made their way down the hallway, Natalie couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Well, that was really...interesting."

"At least we know one thing, she is not a virgin." Dean commented.

"Yeah about that, Dean I don't think that was something you just go right out and ask." Natalie answered.

"How else was I supposed to ask the question? It would have made it a lot more awkward if I had drawn it out longer."

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Feel bad for her though. That's not exactly a question an attack victim expects to hear from a Federal Agent."

"I didn't see you trying to through out any ideas." Dean accused lightly.

Natalie shook her head. "Okay, fine, Dean. So what do you guys think of her account?"

"I'm not sure. You think, Batman, tried to rape her?" Sam asked.

"Well, he does carry a lot of rage." Dean commented earning a light scoff from Natalie. "But, he rejected her because she was already dehymenated, huh?"

"You really think that?" Natalie asked as they walked through the front sliding doors.

"I think it just goes to show that being easy's pretty much all upside."

"Okay, so, if we put all of this together-what thing likes virgins and gold?" Sam asks.

Dean thought for a moment before a smirk finally appeared. "P-Diddy?"

Sam casted Dean a quick look. "You know, it's comforting."

"What is?" Dean asked as they walked over to the Impala.

"I died for a year, came back, and you're still not funny."

Dean's expression fell and he shrugged off Sam's words. "Shut up. I'm hilarious."

Natalie walked over to the driver side back door and let out a small laugh. "Yes, Dean, you're hilarious. I am laughing really hard right now."

Dean gave Natalie a look and then let out a mocked version of her laugh and nudge her in the back. "Get in the car, Nad."

Natalie smirked and laughed to herself. "Testy, testy."

* * *

><p>Walking out of the bathroom, Natalie gently rubbed in the antiseptic cream on the split of her lip and looked over at Sam, who was sitting at the table with his laptop.<p>

"You have got to be kidding me? This is not possible."

Natalie furrowed her brows at Sam's words and walked over to the table. "What?"

"Well, I googled 'fire', 'claws', 'flying', 'stealing virgins' and 'gold', and it all takes me to the same place."

"Where?" Dean asked.

"_World of Warcraft_ websites."

Natalie tilted her head to the side. "_World of Warcraft. _So, what...are you saying that we are dealing with dragons?"

"That's what it says." Sam said, reaching through the site again. "It's not possible."

"Actually, it might be." Dean added.

Sam looked over at him. "How?"

Dean shrugged and walked over and sat down at the table with them. "Maybe we should get a second opinion."

Natalie pulled out her phone and began to dial out a number. "I'll call Bobby. See what he thinks." She finished, putting the phone up to her ear.

_"Yeah?" _

"Hey, Bobby. Got a question for you. What do you know about dragons?" Natalie asked into the phone.

_"What? Nothing. Don't know nothing about dragons."_

Natalie let out a sigh. "Really, Bobby."

_"And I'm telling you I don't know anything. Their like the Loch Ness Monster, Nad. Dragons aren't real." _

"Well, we are in a situation right now that seems to only point to Dragons as the solution. Is there any way that you could make a few calls?"

_"Who am I gonna call? Hogwarts?" _

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Come on, Bobby. We don't know anything about this, so really anything could help us out."

_"All right, fine. I'll call around, see if I can find anything." _

Natalie smiled. "Thanks Bobby."

_"How is memento doing over there. Has he caught onto any of your lies yet?" _

Natalie smiled slowly disappeared as her eyes looked up at Sam, who gave her an expectant look. "Uh. Everything is fine. We are all fine. The boys say hi. Gotta go." Natalie pulled the phone from her ear and tossed it onto the table.

Sam's brows raised at this. "You okay?"

Natalie looked up, seeing both Dean and Sam giving her a look. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

Sam nodded then got up from the table and walked over to his bag that was sitting on one of the beds. Searching through it, he finally pulled out his dad's journal and sat back down at the table.

"Dad never wrote anything about dragons. I promise. I'd remember if I read _The Neverending Story _in there." Dean commented.

Sam continued on searching through the pages but stopped and looked up at Natalie and Dean. "Hey. Did we hunt a shapeshifter lately?"

Natalie brows furrowed and shook her head. But, looking over at Dean, she could see the look on his face. This only told her that this must have been a job he and Sam were on _before _she knew that Sam was alive.

"No. Doesn't ring a bell. Why?" Dean finally answered.

Sam thought for a moment longer. "I don't know. Just...déjà vu or something. Are you sure though? I could have sworn-"

"You got to remember, your eggs are still a little scrambled, right? But, yeah, I'm sure." Dean said, hoping to assert the end of this little conversation.

"Yeah. All right. Never mind."

Natalie watched the interaction between them silently and then raised her brows for a brief moment. _That's something I should ask Dean about later. _Her phone on the table began to vibrate and she quickly picked it up. "Yeah, Bobby?"

_"Can't believe she didn't jump right to mind. Dr. Visyak. Medieval Studies, S.F.U." _

Natalie looked up at Dean, garnering his attention. "Dr. Visyak, S.F.U. Got it. Okay thanks Bobby." Natalie ended the call.

"Oh, Nad wait..." Sam stopped when Natalie looked at him. "I was gonna ask if Bobby tell you where they hold up."

Natalie made a face at her mistake. "Oh. Sorry. I can call him back-"

"No, it's fine. I'll just go take a look back into the lore."

"And in the meantime." Dean stood up and pulled on his jacket. "I'm gonna head out to San Francisco. Nad you wanna come?"

Natalie looked up at Dean, seeing him silently conveying a thought. _We can talk on the road. _Natalie slowly nodded her head. "Um, yeah sure. Unless..." She turned to look at Sam. "Did you need me to stay?"

"No. No it's fine. You and Dean go ahead and go. I'll stay here and read through some more lore."

"Okay. Meet me out in the car Nad." Dean said before heading out the motel door.

Natalie stood from the table and picked up her jacket from the bed. As she made her way over to the door, she stopped next to Sam, placing her hand on his shoulder which made him look up at her. "Are you gonna be all right?"

Sam creased his brows and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

Natalie gave a faint smile and nodded. "Okay." Before she could walk away, Sam took hold of her hand that was on his shoulder and gave her a few reassuring squeezes which she only answered with another smile.

Giving his shoulder one last squeeze, Natalie quickly slid on her jacket and walked out of the motel room door.

* * *

><p>"So, I gotta ask." Natalie spoke up and looked over at Dean. "What was the whole hunt with the shapeshifter Sam was asking about?"<p>

Dean's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "It wasn't long after I learned about Sam. Women were being killed and every single one of them had kids...babies practically, just a couple months old. Turns out the shapeshifter was sleeping with the women, getting them pregnant, then coming back to claim their prizes."

Natalie's eyes widened at the story and hummed. "And then killing the moms. Wow, that's a little...much."

"Yeah. Then me and Sam got stuck with one of the babies. Took care of it for a little bit."

Natalie let out an amused snort. "You and Sam. With a baby. In some ways, I can actually see that."

Dean smiled. "Well, this past year...Lisa's sister had a daughter so I kind of learned a few things."

Natalie settled more into her seat. "You and me both."

Dean's brows furrowed as he glanced quickly at Natalie. "What do you mean?"

Natalie closed her eyes and huffed. "Right. I never told you. Mari had a kid. A little girl."

Dean raised his brows and let out a loud hum. "How old is she?"

"Now...eight months. Can't believe I haven't told you about her. Guess with everything that was going on...it just didn't seem to cross my mind."

"Can't argue with that." Dean took another quick glance at Natalie. "How's the cheek and lip doing?"

Natalie absentmindedly licked at the healing split, regretting it immediately once she tasted the medicine that she had applied to it. "It's fine. I'll tell you one thing...I really don't like keeping all of this from Sam."

Dean sighed heavily. "I know Nad. But, we can't just come out and tell him. I mean you know what that could do to him."

"I know. It's just...every time he looks at me...I feel like he somehow knows what happened. I'm just afraid he's gonna find out we've been keeping things from him."

"We just got to make sure that he doesn't go poking around for information. Just gotta keep an eye on him, Nad."

Natalie nodded silently in agreement and looked up seeing that they were approaching the house. "I'm guessing that's it."

"Yep."

Dean slowly pulled the car into the driveway and parked near the stone steps that led up the porch. Getting out of the car, they both took the steps one at a time and upon reaching the door, Dean noticed a small button and clicked it.

_"Yes?" _A voice came through the small box.

Dean looked back at Natalie, who shrugged her shoulders, and then stepped closer to the intercom. "Yes, um, Dr. Visyak, my name is Dean Winchester and this is Natalie Collins."

_"Office hours are Monday and Friday." _

"Bobby Singer sent us." Dean said only to be met with silence and he raised his brows. "Hello?"

The door suddenly opened and Dean stumbled back as Dr. Visyak walked out onto the porch. She eyed them both, garnering two hesitant smiles from both Natalie and Dean. Dr. Visyak let out a sigh and stepped to the side, motioning for Natalie and Dean to enter, which they did, quickly.

Dr. Visyak followed them in and gently closed the door. "Bobby Singer, huh? Well tell him something for me the next time you see him."

"And that would be?" Dean asked.

"Actually, just kick him in the jewels. That's more poetic."

Natalie gave the woman a surprised look and pursed her lips. "I'm guessing something didn't go right between you two?"

"Well, that's a story that he needs to tell you both. He's the idiot. So, what's this about?"

"Well, uh...dragons, basically." Dean answered.

Dr. Visyak gave him an intrigued look. "Oh. Really?"

Dean gave her a skeptical look. "What? You aren't gonna throw some twelve-sided-dice joke at us?"

"We can joke about them because they've disappeared. But they aren't funny. At all."

"Wait, are you saying that dragons are-or-were real?" Natalie asked.

"As real as you and me."

"Well, one just flew in stateside." Dean said.

Dr. Visyak gave him a look. "Are you sure?"

"Fits the lore to a tee."

Dr. Visyak gave a quick shake of her head. "I don't get it. I mean, why? It's been seven hundred years."

"Banner crop of crazy all the way around these days." Dean commented.

"So, I'm guessing you two are here because you want to know how to kill it."

"That would be really nice to know." Natalie said.

"Well, in order to kill it, you need a blade. One forged I dragon's blood."

Dean gave a look and shrugged. "So you need one to kill one, but you got to kill one to make one. How does that work out?"

Dr. Visyak turned down to a hallway and motioned for Natalie and Dean to follow. "Well, there aren't many dragon swords around anymore. Five or six, tops, worldwide. I mean, there's the sword of St. George, and, of course, there's Excalibur. And there's-"

"You know a lot about this stuff, don't you?" Dean asked.

"Well, I sure as hell better. I have one in the basement. It took me two decades, countless hours, and some really bad sex with an eastern European ambassador, but, yeah."

Natalie smirked in amusement as they finally came upon a set of double doors. Dr. Visyak quickly opened them and Natalie and Dean saw a sword embedded in a boulder.

The three of them slowly enter the room, though Dean and Natalie's faces were adorned in immense skepticism.

"That's not real. Is that real?" Dean asked and looked over at Dr. Visyak who was nodding her head. "Is it Excalibur?"

"No. This is the Sword of Brunswick. Love of my life."

"So, uh..." Dean motioned at the boulder. "What's with the cement shoe?"

"You know, binding sword to stone used to be all the rage. To protect them."

"All right. Well, how do we get this puppy out?" Dean asked.

"Well, come on." Dr. Visyak let out a laugh. "You know this one. We need a brave knight who's willing to step up and kill the beast."

Dean briefly pouted his lips. "All right. Well, I'll, uh, give it a whirl. Do you mind?" Dr. Visyak seemed more than willing to allow Dean this opportunity.

Natalie folds her arms over her chest as she watches Dean stride over to the boulder. Resting his foot on top of the rock, he grabbed hold of the sword handle and pulled, but the sword didn't budge.

Natalie pursed her lips as Dean continued to try and pull the sword out, complimenting the task by situating his hands in different positions. He grasped the handle with both hands and pulled up in a quick motion but ended up fall down. Natalie let out a loud snort, ultimately raising a hand to her mouth to try and stifle her laughter.

Dr. Visyak, who had managed to hold back a laugh, scratched the back of her neck. "You okay?"

Dean stumbled to his feet and casted the two women a quick look. "Yeah. Never better,"

Dean plants both of his feet on the boulder, crouching in his position and grasped the handle with two hands again, trying to pull out the sword. At seeing Dean in this position, Natalie was trying her hardest to keep her laughs from coming out.

Dean gave one last struggling pull and then stumbled off the boulder. "Oh, son of a bitch that's really on there!"

"Yeah, afraid so." Dr. Viysak commented, after letting out her last laugh.

"Well, I have another idea. But, you aren't gonna like it." Dean said, looking over at Dr. Visyak.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked as Dean walked past her out of the room, though she and Natalie were quick to follow.

Dean walked back towards the basement with Natalie and Dr. Visyak following, though the latter was following at a quicker pace. Dr. Visyak quickly stepped in front of Dean, stopping him. "You know what? I don't like this at all. You do realize that this is the single most valuable artifact you have ever touched."

"It's also the only weapon we got. Look, I know what I'm doing, okay? I actually learned it all from Bobby. Whatever happened there, you know he's at least a genius at this." Dean saw the hesitation on her face. "Do you want me to kill that dragon or not?"

Dr. Visyak sighed and reluctantly stepped aside allowing Dean room to do his job. Dean walked up to the boulder and knelt down in front of it. "You rocks think you're so smart." He said, before pulling out the c4's and began to stick them on various parts of the rock.

Natalie watched Dean silently and then looked over at Dr. Visyak, who in all honesty, looked like she was going to have a heart attack. Natalie smiled faintly in sympathy for the woman, she did spend two decades looking for this thing and now here comes Dean, placing explosives on this boulder. She would be unnerved as well.

Dean finished sticking the c4's on the rock and picked up the detonator and began to lead the wiring line out of the room. "Welcome to the 21st century." Natalie and Dr. Visyak backed up out of the room, with Dean following with the detonator in hand.

Closing the door, Dean motioned for them to step back and flashed them a quick smile before pressing the button. A loud explosion ripped through the room, almost knocking the doors open. Dean looked back at Natalie, who raised her brows in response.

Placing the detonator on the ground, Dean opened the door to the basement to find that the boulder had been broken into various chunks, but the sword was still intact. Dean entered the room, a cheeky grin adorning his face as he made his way over to the destroyed boulder.

"Okay, now..." Dean took hold of the sword's handle and pulled it up and the sword did come out, but it had been broken in half. Dean's grin immediately went away as he turned to Natalie and Dr. Visyak.

Natalie held back a laugh that almost escaped and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She wasn't laughing at the fact that the sword was broken...it was the look on Dean's face.

"You've got insurance for this, right?" Dean asked sheepishly.

* * *

><p>Sam tapped his finger against the table in singular rhythms, his mind mulling over his conversation with Castiel. He had told Sam everything, well almost everything, that had happened this past year and Sam was having a hard time even comprehending by some of the things he had heard. All that he had done to Dean, Bobby and Natalie.<p>

Perhaps the one thing that keeps on bugging him is what he did to Natalie. This whole time he had been wondering what had happened to her, when in reality, he was just looking at the product of his own doing. For a small moment, Sam wondered how Natalie could even look at him right now, after what he did. If anything, she was hiding it fairly well.

The motel room door opened and Sam looked up, seeing Natalie and Dean walk in, though Natalie had a huge grin plastered on her face. "What's so funny?" Sam asked.

Natalie let out a laugh and took a quick glance back at Dean, who had just closed the door. "You missed what might have been the best thing ever."

"It was not the best thing ever, Nad." Dean scolded lightly as he walked over to the table.

"You didn't see it from my view." Natalie went and sat down at the other chair and saw Sam looking at her a little amused.

"And what exactly happened?" Sam asked.

"Well, we learned that the only way to kill a dragon is to gank it with a sword forged in dragon's blood. Luckily, Dr. Visyak had a sword we could use and it was stuck in a boulder. Dean tried to get it out and he couldn't. So he ended up blowing the damn thing."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Hey, it was the only way we could get it out."

"And the c4 didn't exactly work the way you wanted it too." Natalie reminded.

Sam furrowed his brow and looked over at Dean. "Why? What happened?"

Dean sighed and pulled out the broken sword from his bag and placed it down on the table. Sam stared at the sword incredulously and gave Dean a look. "And what are we supposed to do with this, Dean? Give it a booster shot?"

"Shut up. It's what we got, all right?" We're just gonna have to get a little closer. That's all. So, what have you managed to find while we were gone?"

"Well, they dwell in caves. And they are nowhere around here. Though, sewers on the other hand...here, come on check this out."

The three of them stood up from the table and walked over to their map that was set up on the wall. "So, two of the disappearances happened within a mile of here. So I think we start there and work our way around."

Dean shrugged and nodded. "Okay, awesome. Who doesn't love sewers? Let's go then." Dean turned to leave when he saw the look on Sam's face. "You all right?"

Sam faintly shook his head and took in a breath. "Yeah. Uh, let's just go."

* * *

><p>Natalie let out a disgusted cough as the three of them walked down one of the sewer halls. It must have been the third or fourth one they've been down and they haven't found anything.<p>

"You know we've been down here for hours and I'm still not used to the smell." Natalie covered her nose and let out another cough.

"Seriously, though, we've been down here looking for hours and we haven't found anything." Dean gave Sam a quick glance. "Maybe the lore was off." As they came to the end of the tunnel, they came to a set of stairs and took them down one by one. "Hey, what if dragons like nice hotels?"

Sam sighed and scanned his flashlight over the area until he came upon something that was shinning from the light. "Hey, what's that?"

Natalie and Dean both turn to look where Sam was talking about and shined their flashlights down on the same spot, seeing what looked like a pile of gold. Dean walked over and knelt down next to the pile. "Holy crap." Dean picked up a gold watch from the pile. "Okay, maybe there are dragons here."

"Okay, so we found a pile of gold here." Natalie backed away from the pile and stood next to Sam. "That means, wherever they might be resting at, needs to be somewhere close."

Natalie looked down at Dean, who was beginning to stow away some of the gold. "Dean, seriously?"

Sam looked down into a small adjacent room and nudged Natalie in the arm. "Wait. Hey look at this."

Natalie and Sam walk off towards the room where they were approaching what looked like some kind of altar. On it, there was a leather-bound book and Natalie ran her hand over the cover and opened up the book a few pages.

"A little arts and crafty for a giant bat, don't you think?" Sam asked as Dean finally followed them and took a quick look at the book.

_"Hello? Is someone there?" _

The three of them turn to their right, upon hearing a voice calling out to them. They followed the voice up a small flight of stairs and found the girls under the sewer grates. Dean, Natalie and Sam knelt down near the grate and began to try and get the thing open.

"We're gonna get you out." Dean said.

"You have to hurry. He's coming back." One of the girls said.

Sam gets pulled back by one of the dragons and Natalie looked over at Dean, who quickly pulled out the sword. Natalie took this opportunity to try and get the girls out from the grates. She pulled out her lock picks and began to try and get the lock to open.

A pair of arms wrapped around Natalie and lifted her up, away from the grate. Natalie thrashed around, knowing very well that it was one of the dragons. She was able to plant her feet on the railing and pushed back, ramming her and the dragon into the wall. She brought her elbow backwards, hitting attacker in the ribs several times. Though the action didn't do anything for her. Instead, she swung her head back, feeling the back of her head making contact with his face, but that only made his grip around her tighten.

Natalie began to feel around in her back pocket and felt the outline of her knife. Pulling it out, Natalie flipped it open and brought it up, embedding it into one of his arms. His hold on her immediately loosened and she moved out of his hold. The dragon grabbed her on the shoulder and turned her back around, throwing a punch to her face, hitting the already bruised cheek. Natalie hissed in pain as the dragon secured his hands around her throat and swung her back around, pinning her against the wall. Her knife fell out of her hand and Natalie brought up her knee, kicking him in the lower abdomen and then threw a punch across his face.

The dragon stumbled back from Natalie's punch and once he recovered, went to go after her again, but, stopped and looked over at something. Natalie furrowed her brows and followed his gaze to see Sam stabbing one of the dragons. The two remaining dragons surveyed the scene and, in a moment of panic, both escaped through the sewers.

Natalie let out a heavy sigh and looked over at the brothers. "You two all right?"

Sam gave a quick nod. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." Natalie wiped the blood that was on her knife on the wall and closed the blade, sliding it back in her pocket. "Let's get the girls out of here."

* * *

><p>Dean turns the dial a little bit more on the gold watch and looks over at Sam, who was coming towards him. "Hey, Sam. Ask me what time it is." Dean said with a grin.<p>

Sam let out a laugh and shrugged. "Why don't you just cut to the chase and roll in it?"

"I rarely have wealth."

Sam smiled briefly at Dean's words and then his expression turned somber. Pulling out one of the spare chairs, Sam sat down across from Dean. "Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah?" Dean asked, continuously fiddling with the watch.

"I am so...so sorry. I can't even begin to say."

Dean stopped and looked over at Sam. "For what?"

Sam gave him a look. "You know what."

Dean literally had to think for a moment before he sighed in realization. "Did Bobby tell you?"

"Cas."

Dean nodded and tossed the watch down. "Cas. Freaking child."

"You should have told me Dean."

"You weren't supposed to know Sam."

"Really? Not even after what I did? To Bobby? To you? Hell, what I did to Nad? Of course I should know."

"Sam, Death didn't just shove your soul back in, okay? He put up the great wall of Sam between you and the things you don't remember. And trust me when I say that the things you don't know can kill you...that's not a joke."

"All right. But I have to set things right. Or what I can, anyway."

Dean shook his head. "It wasn't you Sam."

"You know, I kind of feel like I got slipped the worst mickey of all time and I woke up to find out that I had burnt the whole city down. And you can say it wasn't me, but...I'm the one with the zippo in my pocket, you know? So I'm not sure it's that cut and dry. And, I really do appreciate you...all of you trying to help me. But I got to fix...what I got to fix."

"But you don't know how dangerous that could be." Dean warned.

"What would you do?" Sam asked, seeing the hesitant look on Dean's face. "Right. Same thing."

Dean nodded silently, making sure to choose his next words carefully. "Cas told you that it was Nad who got you your soul back, right?"

Sam pursed his lips together and nodded. "Yeah, he did. Didn't tell me all of it."

"Now that's a story that Nad is gonna have to tell you for herself." Dean answered.

"Didn't think you would let Nad allow herself to go through with that." Sam commented.

"Well, what can I say? She knocked me out...literally. One good punch across the face and...I was out...couldn't stop her." Dean went quiet at remembering the event and faintly cringed at how it made him feel.

"But, Nad went through a lot trying to get your soul back. And if you're going to try and figure out all you did...just be careful. I don't want all of what she did to go down the drain. Have you even talked to her about it yet?"

"No. Not yet. But, I'm going to right now." Sam stood up from the chair and turned around, intent on finding Natalie.

"Hey Sam." Dean spoke up, causing Sam to turn to him. "Nad died, to get your soul back. And I was there. And there was a moment where she wasn't gonna make it...that's twice I've had to go through something like that and I'll tell you one thing I never want to see her like that again. So...just go easy on her. She did it for you and we _both _owe her for that."

* * *

><p>Natalie closed her eyes and let out a pained sigh and gently rubbed her bruised cheek. The punch that the dragon had thrown at her just agitated the already injured area. This only made her to have to ice her cheek once again, much to her annoyance.<p>

Sam walked up behind Natalie, who was leaning against one of the junk cars rubbing her cheek and Sam could feel his guilt eating away at him, "Hey, Nad?"

Natalie opened her eyes and turned to face Sam. "Yeah?"

Seeing the bruise on her face and the still healing cut on her lip, Sam gave a visible cringe. "There's, uh, something that I need to talk to you about."

Natalie slid her hands in her pocket and nodded. "Okay. What is it?"

Sam looked up at her, trying to think of how he should approach the conversation. Like Dean said, he needed to go easy on her. "I...I don't even know what to say Nad. I could say sorry, but honestly, I don't think that would be enough."

Natalie's brows furrowed in confusion as to where all of this was coming from. "Sam...what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about...all that I did."

Natalie for a moment was lost in her confusion, but her mind was able to put two and two together and she closed her eyes. "Who told you?"

"Cas did."

Natalie leaned away from the Impala and stood in front of him. "Sam...you weren't supposed to know anything."

"No. I deserved to know what I did...to all of you. I mean...I did that to you, Nad." Sam said, gesturing at her face.

Natalie shook her head, keeping her gaze off of him. "No, Sam. It wasn't you."

"You know everyone says that but that's not true. It may not have been all of me...but it was still me."

"No, it wasn't. Because _you _would never do anything to hurt me like that."

Sam scoffed at Natalie's words. "What else did he tell you?" Natalie asked cautiously.

"He told me that you died...to get my soul back. That you actually _died. _Nad, you let yourself go through something like that?" Sam asked, though his tone was starting to raise in volume.

Natalie shook her head, her eyes already beginning to fill with tears. "Don't get mad at me. Please, don't be mad at me." She tearfully pleaded. "I did what I had to do...for you. That was my goal. I just wanted to get your soul back. I just wanted you...to be you. And Dean was carrying to much of the weight on his shoulders, not letting me take on some of it. I just did it...I had to take one for the team."

Sam went and leaned against the car and ran a hand down his face.

"Sam, you couldn't continue on without your soul. I mean what you did to me and Bobby...at first I was skeptical about going through with the deal with Death, but after what happened, I'm glad I did. Because I couldn't deal with the possibility of you doing that to anyone else."

Natalie paused and wiped at her eyes and took in a few deep breaths. "I know that what I did was a stupid move, but...a whole year. A whole year I spent trying to get over what happened. Trying to move on. And then I find out that you're alive, but not only that, you were soulless. I just...I just wanted _you _back Sam. And when I saw an opportunity I took it. Please just...don't be angry with me."

Sam remained silent, not giving her one single look, as he continued to mull over her words. If anything he was grateful for two things. One, that she didn't stay dead when she went through with her plan and two, she got his soul back. Those were the positives that Sam had to hold onto. She was still here and now he had his soul.

Sam looked back up at Natalie, seeing that her eyes were still brimming with tears. He then held his hand out to her, though she only silently looked at it, hesitant on taking it. Natalie let out a sigh and finally took a hold of his hand. Sam guided her close to him and he then wrapped his arms around her waist and she secured her arms around his neck, then rested her forehead against his.

"I'm not mad. If anything I'm grateful. You got my soul back Nad...and you stuck around. I mean you could've easily just walked away from this..."

"I could never do that. I wasn't going to leave you or Dean in this alone." Natalie interrupted, tightened her hold on him.

"Thank you. I owe you. Just promise me...that you won't do something like that again. Dean had to go through that twice...and I don't want to know what it's like losing you like that. Okay?"

Natalie nodded her head and smiled faintly. "I won't."

Sam's arms tightened only slightly around her waist, pulling her closer to him, he gently pressed his lips against hers. Natalie settled more against him and had began to think about the last time she had kissed him. It was before he went to say yes to Lucifer. But through all of that, all that she had been through this year, this moment, somehow, almost made up for it.

Her hand gently nestled in Sam's hair, which was answered by Sam tugging her closer to him. Natalie just barely pulled away, their lips just barely touching and she moved one of her hands to his cheek, gently running her thumb his cheek before leaning her forehead back against his, savoring the silence that was surrounding them and just being here with him.

"Hey, love birds." Dean's voice suddenly cut through the silence and both Sam and Natalie slowly turned their heads to him. Dean gave them a small smirk. "Bobby needs to see us. Come on."

Natalie and Sam both gave Dean a silent stare and he only shook his head and walked towards the house. Natalie looked at Sam and let go of her hold on him. "Guess we should go."

* * *

><p>Natalie, Sam and Dean walked into the living room where Bobby was currently sitting at his desk with the book that they had brought back from the sewers. "So, what did you manage to find?" Dean asked.<p>

"Well, as far as I can figure, this dates back around the fourteenth century."

"What kind of language is it?" Sam asked, standing next to Natalie.

"Da Vinci code. Real obscure Latinate. Gonna take me my golden years to translate it all. Oh, and, uh just so you know...this ain't paper."

Natalie tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"It's human skin." Sam, Natalie and Dean both stare with wide eyes at the book on the table. "I'm fairly clear on this first bit. It basically describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of things hungry, sharp, and nasty."

"Monsters?" Sam asked.

"It's monsterland. According to this, it goes by many names, most of which I can't pronounce, but I'm think you three know it as Purgatory."

Dean raised his brows at this. "Purgatory? Awesome. Well, that is good to know. So, you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks were squatting in the sewers and reading tone poems about purgatory?"

"Oh, no, no. They're reading an instruction manual." Bobby answered.

Natalie gave Bobby a cautious look. "A manual. A manual for what?"

"This book gives you a way to access to Purgatory." Bobby said.

"Door to Purgatory. Well, I now a demon who would have loved to have known about that. So, how do you open the door?" Dean asked.

Bobby gave him a shrug. "Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got the page. But, it get's worse."

Natalie let out a quick laugh. "How could any of this possibly get worse Bobby?"

"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is all about opening a door to let something in."

"Bring something here. What?" Sam pushed the subject even more.

"Well, I'm still working on that bit."

"Could you at least give us something?" Dean asked.

"I got a name. Mother."

Sam raised his brows, waiting for Bobby to go further but he didn't. " Mother? Mother of what? Mother of dragons?"

"I wish. It says it a few times here. Mother of all."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it?! What did you think of the scene between NadSam? I am so glad to be able to write scenes like that with them again! Also go and check out the tumblr for these stories (still working on it) the link is on my profile! Until next time! Xx**


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: I AM BACK! It feels so GOOD to be able to write this story again! Thank you to everyone who wished me luck on my papers that meant the world to me! These past two weeks were completely EXHAUSTING with those papers but I am glad to be done with them. _

_Now, let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>The sink faucet was running, steam from the hot water puffed up in clouds, fogging the mirror and warming up the bathroom considerably. Natalie dipped her entire hand and rag underneath the hot water, wincing slightly at the burning sensation that shot through her nerves. But, it didn't make her retract from it. Pulling the rag away from the water, Natalie wringed the rag, allow the excess water to drip back into the sink. Looking up, into the fogged mirror, Natalie wiped her hand across in one stroke, providing her enough of the mirror to look at herself. She looked miserable<p>

The side of her forehead was still bruised, though it was beginning to fade, her eyes were dripping with exhaustion, that was in part to her not getting the best sleep the past couple of days. The bruise on her cheek and the split on her lip she had gotten from Sam, had now both completely healed, though that didn't mean Sam still didn't feel guilty every time he looked at her. Both her arms were in fair condition, aside from the still healing cuts along the bottom length of her forearms and they needed to be cleaned and re-bandaged.

Natalie drew out a long sigh as she brought the rag up and gently ran it down the cut on her right forearm. The heat mixed with the dampness from the rag, brought a satisfying relief to the irritating burning she had been feeling the past day.

"Stupid ghoul." Natalie whispered to herself.

Finishing up with her right arm, Natalie went to work on her left, gently running the rag down the identical cut, wincing when she applied to much pressure. When she decided that it was enough, Natalie threw the rag back into the sink and rested her arms on the sink and leaned over the marble finishing. Her eyes closed momentarily, needing them to rest if it was only for a second. She was so exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but Natalie knew that she wouldn't get much rest.

Ever since their last job back in Nebraska, she had been a wreck, at least from Sam and Dean's eyes. Hunting some ghouls, wouldn't seem like something that would phase Natalie. But, it was during the hunt that something went wrong. She slipped up, got herself caught by the ghouls and almost got herself killed. But, that wasn't really what was bothering her. After the hunt was taken care of, Natalie began to think about what went wrong and Death's warning swirled in with her thoughts.

_Was that what he was warning me about? Somehow on a hunt, something is gonna go really wrong? _

Natalie shook her head and opened the bathroom door and walked past Sam, who was sitting at the table, looking intently at his laptop. Natalie walked over to her bed and pulled out her bag, setting it down on the bed and began to search through it. She was trying to find her bandages and they were not in her bag.

Natalie threw the bag down on her bed, huffing in frustration and made her way back into the bathroom, thinking that she left them in there somewhere. Scanning the floor, incase she had dropped them, and found nothing. She quickly pressed her hands against her face and let out a tired and frustrated groan.

"Nad? What are you looking for?" Sam finally asked, having watched her silently as she looked for her bandages.

Natalie drew in a breath and lowered her hands. "I'm looking for my bandages."

Sam furrowed his brows and he looked passed his laptop, spotting them sitting on the table in front of him. "Nad...they're right here."

Natalie turned around and finally spotted them lying on the table. Her shoulders slumped after she realized that she had left them there and that she had walked passed them several times. _How could I have forgotten? _Dragging a hand down her face, Natalie shuffled walked out of the bathroom and lazily picked up the bandages. "Right. Sorry."

Sam kept his gaze on Natalie and was able to see her hands shaking slightly. Natalie had been off-guard the entire week since their last hunt. She was shaky and always losing herself in some kind of trance, not paying attention to anything. At first, Sam and Dean thought it was just her getting over the little slip up that happened with the ghouls. But, as the week progressed, her mood got worse. Both Dean and Sam tried to get her to talk by easing into conversations with her, but whatever was bothering her, it was something big.

Sam straightened in his chair as he watched Natalie trying to unwrap the bandages, failing in doing so as her hands continued to shake with their nervous twitches.

"Nad, here." Sam stood up and walked over to Natalie, gently taking the bandages from her hands. Upon receiving a confused look from her, he motioned over to the bed, telling her to sit down, which she did. Sam took the chair he had just been sitting in and pulled it with him, then sat down in front of Natalie.

Sam silently unwrapped the bandages and took a quick glance at her hands, which were still shaking, though, it had dwindled only slightly. Once the bandages were unraveled, Sam gestured for her to turn her arms over, revealing her cuts. Sam went to work on the right arm first, carefully wrapping the bandage around her arm, his one hand ultimately having to gently hold onto her wrists several times to try and stop the shaking.

"Nad...are you all right?" Sam finally asked after a deafening silence. Without looking up, Sam could just feel her eyes looking at him.

"Yeah." Her voice answered, though it was just only barely audible.

Sam finished up with her right arm and hummed skeptically. "Really?" He brought the bandage to her left arm and began working wrapping the cloth around it. "Because your hands are shaking pretty badly."

Natalie lips twitched into a frown, feeling a little self-conscious at the fact that Sam had seen her shaking. She tried to rid of her nervous twitching, but to no avail. "It's nothing. Just a little...shaken up, I guess."

"Is it about the whole slip up with the job back in Nebraska?" Sam questioned.

He finished the last round of wrapping on her arm and leaned back against his chair, his eyes looking up at her, expecting an answer.

Natalie gently ran her thumb over the bandage on her left arm, trying to stall from having to talk about it any further.

"Nad?"

Natalie gave a slight jump at Sam's voice coming from seemingly nowhere. "It's nothing, Sam. Please, just stop asking me."

"Right, okay. If it's 'nothing', then why are you acting like this?" Sam asked, his voice stern, but there was no harshness to them. "You're shaky, you jump at the slightest thing. Every time Dean and I try to talk to you...you're not even paying attention. You're not sleeping and when you do, you just wake up in cold sweats. Something's up."

Natalie hissed at Sam's words and combed her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "I don't know what you want me to say, Sam."

"How about you just tell me what's bothering you?"

"It's none of your damn business." Natalie answered back, though it came out a little harsher then she had intended and Sam's expression solidified it.

Sam's face softened from the tension that had been evident and Natalie could see the appearance of Sam's 'puppy dog' eyes. Natalie inwardly groaned, having heard about Sam's talent for this, from Dean many times. But, she had never had the privilege to actually witness it or more like she had never been the victim of it.

"Don't...don't give me that look." Natalie faintly pleaded and it only made the look on his face become more genuine. "God." Natalie breathed out. "It's just...something that I have to deal with myself...and I don't want to tell you because you have enough to worry about. You need to focus on _you._"

"Not everything is centered around me, Nad."

"For now, yes it is." Natalie replied quickly. "Just because you have your soul back Sam, doesn't mean you are out in the clear. You still need to be careful."

"I know that. But, that doesn't mean that I can't help you. Right? You've done enough for me...now let me do something for you. Let me help."

Natalie rubbed her forehead and groaned, more from exhaustion then her frustration that she was feeling. After a brief moment, she pulled her hands away and clapped them together. "You want to help me?"

Sam nodded.

"Don't worry about it." Natalie raised a hand up at Sam, seeing that he was about to argue. "If you want to help me, then don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself. Okay?"

Sam remained silent, studying Natalie's face, debating to himself whether he should press the matter forward. Clearly, whatever was bothering her, it was something that was beyond Sam and Dean's knowledge. It couldn't be what happened with the last hunt, maybe it was a factor, but not the main cause. But, Natalie was right with what she told him. It wasn't any of his business and if she didn't want to tell him anything, then she has every right not to say it.

But, Sam, being the kind of guy that he is, whether it's Dean or Natalie, whenever he sees them like this, it's in his nature to try and help fix whatever was bothering them. And sometimes that can backfire, especially, when they don't want to talk about it.

Sam, upon realizing that he had been silent for a while, licked at his lips and nodded. "You're really stubborn. You know that?"

Natalie gave a small smile. "Yeah. But, it wouldn't be me if I wasn't. Right?" Natalie raised her bandaged arms up to Sam. "Thanks for patching me up."

Sam gave a faint laugh. "You don't have to thank me."

Natalie's smile slowly faded when she could see that, in his eyes, Sam was still wondering about what was going on with her. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. Especially, when his eyes were so readable.

"Just worry about _this._" Natalie stood up from the bed and gently nudged his head. "Worry about yourself." She braced her hands on the sides of his face and planted a quick kiss to his forehead.

The motel room door opened and when Dean walked in, he saw Natalie lean away from Sam and gave a quick shake of the head. "I always seem to walk in on the wrong time. Don't I?"

"No, I think you're fine Dean." Natalie commented lightly.

"And how are you feeling?" Dean asked and Natalie's expression immediately grew tense.

"I'm fine." Natalie's answer didn't satisfy Dean and he answered this with a quick hum. "Did Bobby have any other information on this whole 'Mother of All' thing?"

Dean slowly shook his head and walked over to the table, setting down the food he had gone out to pick up. "Nothing. Though, he said that it's all been really quiet. Aside from those ghouls he butchered back in Nebraska. Really, there's been nothing."

Dean reached into the bag and pulled out a burrito and tossed it to Natalie. "Eat."

Natalie sighed and fumbled with the food in her hands. "You think that Eve is making things go all quiet?"

"Hard to say." Dean sat down at the table, pulled out another burrito and tossed it to Sam, before taking out one for himself. "They might just be hunkering down. Since, you know, mother is here."

Natalie pursed her lips to the side and pulled out one of the spare chairs and sat down.

"Come on though." Sam had turned his chair around and his arms were leaning on the table. "When is it ever just 'quiet'?"

Dean tilted his head in agreement. "True." Dean took quick look at the table and then stood up from his chair and walked over to the fridge.

Natalie sighed and looked over at Sam, who was looking down at his phone with a confused look on his face. Her brows creased faintly and she leaned over to him. "What is it?"

Sam tilted his phone over to her and Natalie shrugged at what she saw. "What are those? Coordinates?"

"Yeah."

Natalie's gaze switched between the phone and Sam several times. "What are they coordinates to?"

"I don't know." Sam placed the phone on the table and pulled his laptop over to him.

Dean came back over to the table, three beers in his hand, though seeing Sam on his laptop and Natalie staring at his phone, he knew something was up.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, sitting back down at the table.

Natalie looked up at him and tossed over the phone to Dean, who took a quick glance at the numbers.

"Coordinates. Who are they from?"

Sam and Natalie both shrugged at Dean's question. "But, I know where it leads to." Sam spoke up. "Bristol, Rhode Island." He opened up a few articles he managed to find quickly and turned his laptop around for Natalie and Dean to see. "...where three women disappeared in the last week. From the articles, apparently, the victims seemed to vanish into thin air."

Natalie's brows raised up, "Hm. So much for things being quiet."

Dean shrugged at Natalie's words. "It could be something." He added. "What do you think the whole mysterious text is about though?"

Sam shrugged and turned his laptop back towards him. "Could be another hunter looking for backup, throwing us a case, maybe? I mean, who knows how many hunters I even met while working with the Campbells. But, I think we should go."

Natalie nodded and then snapped her gaze over to him. "Wait, what?"

"Whoah, you just wanna drop everything here and head out?" Dean was the next to ask.

Sam gave them both a look. "We're not doing anything, so, why not?"

Dean pointed down at Sam's phone. "You just got mysterious coordinates from a mysterious Mr. X, leading to a mysterious town? And is that not raising red flags to you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But that doesn't mean we can just ignore a bunch of missing girls. Right?"

Natalie looked over at Dean, both of them silently expressing their doubts about this whole idea. "I really don't like idea of this." Natalie finally admitted.

"Okay, here's how it's gonna go." Dean said. "We'll go and check it out. But if things get squirrelly, we head out, okay?"

Sam quickly nodded, not putting up much of an argument, if it meant that they would head out from here quicker. "Yeah."

Dean nodded and looked over at Natalie, who was still deciding on her end of the agreement. Regardless, if she wanted to or not, Natalie knew that they couldn't just skip out on the fact that there are people missing.

Running a hand through her hair, Natalie drew out a long sigh. "Okay. Fine."

* * *

><p>Sitting at a diner table, Natalie flipped through the 'missing person' fliers and after taking a quick drink from her tea, she handed the fliers over to Dean. "Well, they all at least have the same physical features. Still doesn't really help us with anything."<p>

"Yeah. This guy definitely, loves his brunettes." Dean stopped on one of pictures and hummed. "Whoah. This one's got a little bit of a wild side." Dean showed the flier to both Sam and Natalie. "It's all in the eyes. See it?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and then let out a long yawn.

"So much for getting any sleep in the car, huh?" Dean set the fliers down on the table.

"Shut up." Natalie groaned, rubbing at her sore eyes. "Aside, from their physical attributes, what else do they have in common?"

"Nothing." Sam said. "They having nothing else in common. Different jobs, different friends, different...everything."

"Okay. So, then there's no connection? That seems a little strange."

"Well, why don't you two figure it out?" Dean stood up from the table. "I'm gonna go hit the 'poop deck'."

Natalie picked up the fliers, deciding to go through them one more time and taking a quick glance up at Sam, she could see that he was thinking about something.

"Hey, you okay?"

Sam looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Natalie leaned her arm on the table and inched closer to him. "Really? Because you seem a little on edge about being here. Are you starting to remember something?"

Sam leaned a little closer to Natalie. "I don't know. Just coming up here...it all just looked so familiar."

"What...so you were having, flashbacks? Was it a job you and Samuel were doing together?"

Sam shrugged. "Maybe."

Natalie leaned back against her chair. "I knew coming here wasn't a good idea."

"They're just flashbacks, Nad."

"No, Sam, they're not just _flashbacks. _Listen, you wanted to know what you did this past year. We were all skeptical about that. But, now, you're getting damn flashbacks. You need to be careful, that wall can only take so much."

"I know." Sam quietly interrupted.

"Okay." Natalie breathed out. "Look, we-"

"Agent Roark?"

Natalie and Sam both look up to find woman approaching them with a man towing behind her. "It's good to see you again."

Sam stared up at the woman, mouth slightly agape in confusion. "Uh, yeah, it's...good to see you too."

The woman offered Sam a huge smile, that made Natalie feel a little uneasy. "Oh, you remember my husband? Don?"

Sam gave a quick nod. "Right. Yeah, um, hi."

"So, you're back because it started again, right? The disappearances?" The woman asked.

"Yeah. Right, um, so if either of you two hear anything, please let me know."

The woman nodded. "Will do." Her gaze then looked down on Natalie, who felt her eyes burning into her. "Who is this?"

Sam cleared his throat and motioned at Natalie. "This is my new partner."

Natalie pursed her lips and looked up at the woman, giving her a faint smile and nod. "Hi."

"Hi." The woman flashed a forced smile, that then turned into a smug smirk and her brow quirked up, almost as if she was silently challenging her. Natalie's expression instantly fell. Natalie pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek and turned her gaze away from the woman.

"Whatever happened to your other partner? The big bald guy? Agent Wynand, right?" The woman went on to say, much to Natalie's annoyance.

Sam, who had been studying Natalie's expression, looked back up at the woman and nodded. "Right. Agent Wynand, well, he-"

"Sex rehab." Dean suddenly joined in, causing Natalie breathe a sigh of relief. "Yeah, you've heard of plushies, right?"

Sam let out a cough to cover up the laugh that had caught in his throat. "Right. This is my other partner."

Dean gave the woman a smile as he shook her head. "Hi. Nice to meet you both." Dean said as he shook the husband's hand. "Well, uh, Agents, we should head out now."

"Of course. Well, uh, it was nice chatting with you, Agent."

Sam gave her one last nod. "You too."

The woman and her husband walked behind Sam toward the bar and as they did, the woman gave a small brush against Sam's shoulder. Natalie, who had been gathering the papers, look up in time to see it and her eyes fixed on the woman in a piercing glare.

Dean's eyes flickered from the woman and to Natalie, his lips pursing to the side. "I think Samuel and I worked a case in this town." Sam finally spoke up.

"Yeah, you think?" Dean leaned his hand on the table and held up a photo in the other hand. Sam and Natalie both look at the picture, seeing Sam and Samuel siting in the background. "Come on, let's get out here."

"Couldn't agree with you more." Natalie replied.

The three of them quickly gather up the papers and Dean made sure to leave a tip on the table, before he and Sam headed out of the restaurant. Natalie stood up from the table and took her jacket from the back of her chair and slid her arms through the sleeves. Picking up the fliers, her eyes casually looked up and she could the woman staring at her, that same smug look on her face. Natalie bit down on her bottom lip and her eyes narrowed faintly. Stopping herself, Natalie broke her gaze and picked up the fliers before turning around and left the restaurant.

* * *

><p>Natalie zipped up her bag, her mind still buzzing from that woman at the diner and Dean could sense it so easily. Plus, it wasn't hard to tell by the look he saw Natalie giving her.<p>

"Just so you know." Dean spoke up, causing Natalie to look over at him. "I have never seen you give that kind of death glare to anyone before." He said, slightly amused by it.

Natalie let out a breath but couldn't help the small smile that appeared. "I guess that I should take that as a compliment."

Dean let out a laugh. "I seriously thought you were gonna go up to her. One of the many reasons why I wanted to get the hell out of there."

Natalie's smirk turned into a full on smile and she huffed out a laugh. "I think I went a little overboard with whole glaring."

"But, really Nad. You don't have to worry about Sam with...you know. Don't worry about all of that...stuff"

Natalie let out a cough and nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's just she had this look on her face that just..." Natalie groaned in frustration as she thought about it. "It just pissed me off."

Dean gave Natalie a quick rub on her back and walked out into the room where Sam was, looking on his laptop. "Hey, come on Sam. Hurry up, would you?"

Sam looked up at Dean and shook his head. "We can't go, Dean."

Dean raised his arms up. "Yeah, we can. Let's go."

"No, just listen to me for a minute. Five guys went missing a year ago. They never found the bodies. I mean, that's got to be the job me and Samuel worked on, right?"

"Okay. Great. What difference does it make?"

Sam stood up from his seat and set his laptop down. "A year ago, five guys go missing, and...and now suddenly all these women go missing. Something's here. So either we just didn't stop it, or we only thought we did."

"Okay, but why the gender bend, huh?" Dean asked. "First, it's dudes. Now it's chicks? That's a totally different M.O."

"I don't know. Who knows? The point is, something's still here."

Natalie walked out and stood next to Dean, her arms folded over her chest. "We can just call Bobby and he can come out here and take care of it."

"Why call Bobby? We are already here, we can just deal with it."

"Sam are you being serious? There is a reason that hunters don't hit the same town over again...because we have a habit of leaving messes behind." Dean said.

"Right, yeah, I agree."

"That's one of dad's rules...you never use the same crapper twice."

"Everyone uses the same crapper twice, Dean."

Dean rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Okay, look, this creature is still walking around because of me, right? I mean, I let it go. Dad also said, 'you finish what you start'."

"Sam, we know that you want to try and figure out what's going on here. But, I think Dean is right. We should just let Bobby take care of this, before something happens to you." Natalie added.

"Okay. I know you two are worried, all right? You two are afraid I'll stroll down memory lane and I'll kick this wall in my head so had, Hell comes flooding through, right? And then all of a sudden, I'm some drooling mess on the floor."

Natalie gave a visible wince. "Sam. Don't joke like that."

Sam pursed his lips, immediately regretting his words. "I'm sorry. But, what's happening here right now...it's because I messed up somehow, in some big way. So every person who gets taken, every person who dies...that's on me. I have to stop it. And I know, you two would do the same thing."

"Sam..." Natalie rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't like this. I really don't. I get it, you wanna stop whatever this thing is...but, maybe we aren't the ones who should do it. Especially, with you..."

"Nad, this is all _my _fault. Whatever I did, this is the result from it. I need to fix whatever it is I screwed up. Let me do this."

Natalie turned to Dean, who looked at her, both of them simmering in their thoughts. They wanted nothing more than to get Sam out of here and ask Bobby to take care of it. But, knowing Sam, he was going to fight his way to stay here and finish it. And there was no way they were gonna leave him alone to do it.

Natalie gave Dean a small nod and he sighed in his own relent. "Okay, fine. We'll stay here and take care of this."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it?! Hope you enjoyed the little NadSam scenes that I put in here! Until next time! Xx**


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Don't forget to send in your questions for the Q&A or your own ideas of what I should do! Also! Next chapter is when Natalie FINALLY confronts Elais and I am probably going to make it into one LONG chapter, so hope you all are ready for that and don't miss it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Natalie let out yet another long yawn and Sam quirked up a brow as he briefly looked at her, thinking on the fact that was probably the tenth yawn she's had, within the past five minutes, give or take. Okay maybe it wasn't that much, Sam thought to himself. But, he had stopped taking count of her excessive yawning.<p>

"You know, maybe you should go back to the-"

Natalie quickly held her hand up to him, silencing his attempt to convince her of the thought. "I am not going to let you two do this alone. Especially, you. You really think I'm just gonna let you go out on your own?"

Sam huffed out a sigh and shook his head. "I'm fine, Nad."

"Yeah, well, I really don't think you are. And until we get this case done and get out of this town...the better I will feel."

"You seriously think that I'm gonna go off the rail to much and break down this wall."

Natalie looked up at Sam and shrugged her shoulders. "What else do you expect me to think? None of this is okay. The damn flashbacks. I feel like you are teetering towards the edge and I'm in the back, just barely keeping you from falling. Because, if your wall _does _break...there's nothing I can do Sam."

"I know that Nad. But, I promise. I'm not gonna go overboard. The flashbacks are really just quick scenes...nothing to severe."

Natalie scoffed out her skepticism.

Sam stopped his walking and gently took hold of Natalie's arm and guided her back towards him so that they were both facing each other.

"Okay, Nad, I'm gonna need you to do something for me. I get that you're worried and I really appreciate that you're trying to help. But, just do this for me. Stop worrying about me, for just a little bit. Worry about you."

Natalie pursed her lips at Sam repeating what she had told him before they took on this job. It irked Natalie that he was using her words on her, but yet, she couldn't hold on to any anger, because there really wasn't any.

"Because you aren't fine, Nad." Sam went on to say, which made Natalie sigh in slight annoyance that he was bringing this back up. "And you aren't talking to me, so I can't help you. So please, just make _you _your first priority. Okay?"

Keeping her eyes fixed on him, her stare was nothing more than a blank look. Sam couldn't determine what she was thinking, but, he could only surmise that she was a little irritated at him mentioning this again.

Natalie turned to look at the police station, where they were going to get some more info about the case. Turning back to look at Sam, slowly nodded her head. "Shall we go inside and see what we can find?"

Natalie turned and began to walk, once she saw the hint of a small smirk appear on Sam's face. Sam, still, followed Natalie down the sidewalk and gave her a small nudge in the side, which was met by a surprised look from her.

"So stubborn." Sam commented.

"Sometimes it can be very beneficial to be stubborn." Natalie replied, her voice dripping with a sarcastic pride.

"Whatever you say Nad."

Sam and Natalie looked both ways and then began to cross the street in order to get to the police station, with Natalie walking a little ahead of Sam.

"Hold it right there! Hands where I can see them!"

Natalie halted and looked back at Sam, who hesitantly raised his hands up in response to an officer, who was currently pointing a gun at him.

"Get in my car, or you're under arrest."

Natalie remained frozen in her position, eyes switching from the officer and to Sam. It was only when the officer advanced towards Sam and began to handcuff him, did Natalie finally get her legs working.

"Wait, a minute, officer wait." Natalie said, a little panicked by this whole scene. "This has to be some misunderstanding."

The officer placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder, gently pushing her back. "Please, step back."

"No." Natalie pushed against his hand. "Officer this is a mistake."

"You need to step back right now." The officer repeated himself, this time his voice taking on a firmer tone.

Sam turned as much as he could to look at Natalie. "Hey. It's fine."

Natalie searched Sam's eyes as he silently conveyed a thought to her. _Find out what you can. And find Dean. _Giving him a small nod, Natalie reluctantly backed away from them both, as the officer guided Sam to the back of the police car. Once she was a good distance away from them, Natalie quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Dean's number.

_"Yeah?"_

"Dean, where the hell are you?"

* * *

><p>Natalie walked down the sidewalk that led her back into the thick of the town. She had called Dean, asking where he was and upon telling her, Natalie ended that discussion rather quickly and began to make her way to where he was.<p>

Reaching the middle of the town, Natalie scouted out the area around her, trying to find where Dean was. Her eyes finally settled on him, across the street from her and she quickly made her way over to the opposite side.

Dean raised his arms out in a questioning manner. "What was up with that phone call? I couldn't get some kind of explanation before you hung up?"

Natalie came to a stop in front of him, taking in a breath. "Yeah, well, you're about to get that right now. Sam got arrested."

Dean paused and blinked a couple of times. "What? He got arrested?"

Natalie's eyes widened slightly at his words, that conveyed to Dean he had heard right. "We were on our way to the police station and this...this cop comes up and just arrests him. Just like that!"

Dean slowly nodded and raised his hands up to her in a calming gesture. "Okay, Nad, just take a deep breath."

Natalie took in a breath and held it in for a brief moment before letting it out.

"You good?"

A quick laugh from Natalie, told Dean that she wasn't.

"I'll tell you one thing." Natalie went on to say. "That officer looked really...nervous around Sam. It was almost like he had seen him. Which isn't a shocker, since Sam and Samuel worked a case here."

"Which means something must've happened." Dean finished off.

"I knew that this wasn't going to be a clean-cut job, but, really? We could have gone without the whole cop recognizing Sam."

Natalie brought her hands up to her face and slowly dragged them down her cheeks. Trying her best to keep herself awake and aware. Her eyes were beginning to feel heavy again and this was not the time for her lack of sleep to start kicking in its side effects

Dean eyed Natalie carefully and then cleared his throat. "Okay, Nad, here's what I want you to do. Go back to the house."

Natalie raised her brows at his words. "What?"

"Go back to the house and just take a moment to try and relax."

"Uh, no. I'm not going back there. We need to get Sam out of jail."

"I'll take care of it." Dean answered as he began to gently usher Natalie in the direction where the Impala was. "Let me take you back to the house."

Natalie groaned at Dean's guidance. "Why are you making me go back?"

"Because you seriously look like you're about to pass out at any minute."

Reaching the passenger door, Natalie stood in place, not making a move to try and get in the car. "There is a thing called coffee."

"Yeah, because that did wonders for you last time you tried to avoid sleeping."

Natalie pursed her lips, thinking back on her first hunt with them and the constant nightmares she would have. And he was right. Coffee only helped keep her up for so long.

"Are you gonna get in?" Dean asked, after Natalie had just been standing there.

"No, I'll just walk back."

Dean's brow immediately creased. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. I'll be fine. It's not that long of a walk anyways."

Natalie felt her phone vibrating from her pocket and she pulled it out, seeing a message sent to her from...Sam "What?"

"What is it?"

"I just got a text from Sam." Natalie opened up the text and tilted her phone to the side so that Dean would be able to read it as well.

_I'm out. Back at the house. Explain everything there._

"Well, then. Looks like I'm gonna drive you there regardless." Dean commented, receiving a small eye roll from Natalie. "Come on, get in the car."

* * *

><p>Dean and Natalie walked up to the house, both of them calmly bickering with each other. It all started with Dean trying to get Natalie to talk about what was going on with her. Sam already had a try with her and now it was Dean's turn. Though, he wasn't met with much, which actually didn't surprise him.<p>

Reaching the door, Dean slowly opened, since he was still to occupied with talking to Natalie. "You are just so stubborn."

"Yeah, I know. I like being stubborn." Natalie answered as she followed Dean into the house.

"Hey, Sam." Dean called out once he saw Sam standing near the couch. "How does it feel to be a fugitive again? Hate to say I told you so."

Sam gave Dean a look and scoffed. "What are you talking about? You love to say I told you so."

Dean thought for a moment and pursed his lips together. "You're right. I do love to say it."

Natalie rolled her eyes and walked past Dean into the living room. "Anyways. So I found out something on, uh, 'crazy eyes McGee'." Dean pulled out the photo of one of the girls and handed it to Sam. "Turns out you two knew each other."

Sam looked up at Dean and shrugged. "What?"

"Yeah, I mean biblically. I just spoke to her roommate. I got to say man-you really got around. I got to say man, soulless or not, I'm actually kind of impressed."

_Eight Sierra Papa. Got a 1057, 1100 block of Hope Street. Over._

The police scanner in the other room, caught all of their attentions and Sam was ready to get back out there. "It's another missing person."

Dean placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, forbidding him from moving any more. "Okay. I'll take care of it. You just stay here." Dean looked over at Natalie and pointed at her. "You stay here as well."

"Dean."

"No. We're not gonna argue about this. Nad you stay here. Sam you stay here. Just...just both of you stay here. Keep an eye on each other. Okay?"

Natalie and Sam both nodded their answers at Dean and even though it wasn't much, it was enough for Dean. "I'll be back soon." Dean turned around and walked out of the house.

"So, what exactly happened after you got arrested?" Natalie finally asked.

Sam huffed out a breath and went to sit down on the couch, where he had been looking at other news articles about the disappearances and Natalie was quick to follow him.

"A woman, Brenna Dobbs, came to see me. She was the wife of one of the sheriffs that went missing when Samuel and I were here."

Natalie plopped down on the couch next to him. "Okay. So, did she let you out?"

"She was skeptical. But, I was able to convince her to let me go. Told her that I would figure out what happened."

"I'm gonna guess that she thought you were responsible for what happened to her husband."

"She really didn't know what to believe." Sam answered.

Natalie pursed her lips and looked at him, seeing a tense and pensive look on his face as he read through one of the articles. "How's the head doing?"

"Fine." Sam said, switching through for another article. "The flashbacks are still coming in like, singular scenes. They're quick."

"I can't say that I'm happy about that, but, at least it's nothing about hell." Natalie admitted, finishing off with a yet another yawn and then reached forward, picking up one of the article clippings and pulled her phone out, placing it down on the table. "Might as well help myself to one of these, until Dean gets back."

Natalie rested her cheek against her hand, her eyes slowly skimming through the paragraphs, occasionally flickering her gaze up to the photo on the page. The silence between her and Sam and the fact that she was just sitting here, Natalie, at several times, could feel her eyes start to close.

Just before she could actually pass out, Natalie sucked a quick breath, widening and blinking her eyes to rid of the heaviness that was in them. She tried focusing her attention on the article again, hoping that it would dispel her longing to just crash right here. Once again, Natalie could feel her eyes closing, faster this time. Silently thinking to herself to wake up, Natalie's eyes finally closed and her body moved to the side, allowing her head to rest on Sam's shoulder.

Sam, who had been reading through an article, felt a pressure against his side and even more so on his shoulder. His eyebrow quirked up. "Nad?" He looked down to the right and saw Natalie slumped up against him, her head resting, uncomfortably, against his shoulder.

"That didn't take long." Sam remarked as he placed the clippings back onto the table. He reached over and took the paper from Natalie's hand and placed it down along with the others. Securing his arm around her back, Sam gently lowered her down onto the couch and stood up, bringing her legs up and resting them on the cushions.

Sam looked down on Natalie's slumbering form and then took a quick glance over at the newspaper articles when his mind clicked. Quietly, he grabbed his jacket that was sitting near Natalie's feet on the couch and quickly put it on. He knew that he was going to most likely get an earful from Natalie, but, if she had been awake, she wouldn't have let him go anywhere. This was his only chance.

* * *

><p>Natalie took in a breath as she turned over onto her stomach, her arm hanging down over the edge of the couch, still in a semi-deep sleep. Her phone on the table soon began to go off and her eyes shot open. Reaching her arm up, Natalie lost her balance and her body slid off the couch and she landed with a thud on the ground.<p>

Groaning, her hand reached back up on the table and she grabbed her phone. "Hello?"

_"Nad? Why isn't Sam answering his phone?"_

Natalie sat up and rubbed at her eyes, still half-asleep to really be aware of what Dean asked her. "What?"

_"Sam. Can you tell him to answer his phone?"_

Looking up, her eyes blinking away the sleep, she could tell that the sun was setting, since the house was dark, but she could tell that it wasn't 'night' out yet. "He's not answering his phone." She slurred, rubbing the side of her face.

_"Yeah. Can you just put him on?"_

Natalie looked around and soon her sleep began to wear off. "Sam?" Natalie called out and received only silence. For a brief moment, Natalie sat there with Dean on the other end and her mind trying to piece all of this together.

"Shit."

Natalie jumped up to her feet and stumbled in her steps, which created a loud thud that Dean could hear from the other end.

_"Nad? You all right?"_

"Sam's not here." Natalie said into the phone as she tried to re-balance herself so that she could walk properly.

_"What do you mean he's not there? You were supposed to keep an eye on him."_

"Yeah, I know that Dean." Natalie reached the door and pulled it open, her breathing hitching at the sudden cold air that hit her. "I fell asleep and of course, he took that as his opportunity. I'm gonna go look for him."

_"Whoah, wait a minute. You have no idea where he is!"_

"Well, do you?!" Natalie called out as she began to walk down the driveway.

_"No, which is why you should wait for me to get there."_

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Natalie said, finding herself already on the main road and walking back towards town. "I might have an idea where he could be. He told me about this woman who let him out of jail. She was a wife of one of the Sheriffs that went missing when he was here. Brenna Dobbs. Are you still in town?"

_"Yeah."_

"Okay, find out where she lives. I'm pretty sure that's where he went. Send me the address and then I'll go and get him."

_"All right. I'll let you know soon."_

Natalie pulled the phone away from her ear and slid it into her pocket. Instead of turning around and going back to the house, Natalie figured she would keep on walking towards town. Dean was going to get the information soon and it would be waste of time if she tried going back now.

Pulling her jacket closer to her body, Natalie mentally swore and picked up her pace, wanting to reach town as fast as she could. The wind began to pick up and Natalie huffed out a breath, thinking about how much she hated the cold.

Faint sounds coming from behind her caught her ever wandering attention. Natalie didn't stop her walking, but made sure to listen for them. Almost on cue with her thought, Natalie could hear the noises pick back up again and the more she listened to them, she began to making them out to be...footsteps. Natalie could feel a chill go down her spine as the footsteps mimicked her own.

Her paranoia soon began to kick in and Death's words came into the mix. _Something is coming your way. It would do you well to keep an eye out. _Natalie slowed her pace and carefully reached back to her gun and took in a deep breath. As soon as the footprints stopped Natalie spun around, gun out in front of here aiming at...nothing.

Natalie let out a few quick breaths and she jumped when her phone began to go off again. Pulling it out of her pocket she found that Dean had sent her a message and she opened it, reading the address that he had sent her.

"Okay." Natalie whispered to herself. "Get it together."

...

Natalie turned right and was met with a decent sized neighborhood. Sparing no time, she jogged down the sidewalk, looking for the house number that was part of the address Dean had sent her. After passing the seventh house on the block, Natalie finally came upon the home with the right number. Looking up on the porch she saw Sam standing there and she didn't know whether to be pissed or relieved.

Either way, Natalie took her time walking up the steps, since she had spent all this time walking, in the cold also. Walking up behind him, Natalie reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Sam immediately turned around and aimed his gun at her to which she stumbled back and let out a small yelp in surprise. Sam gave her a look and lowered his gun. "I almost shot you...again."

"Yeah. I can see that." Natalie replied back. Natalie brought her hand up and hit Sam across his shoulder.

"What the hell, Nad?" Sam's eyes widened slightly.

"God, Sam. Really? Did you really have to do that? I fall asleep you and decide to just slip out. Couldn't you have just..." Natalie stopped and ran her hand through her hair. "You know what...I'm not even gonna get into this. I just walked all the way from the house to here, in the damn cold."

Sam stowed his gun away and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I just needed to get some...info."

Huffing out a breath, Natalie took out her phone and began to dial Dean's number. "Okay. I'm gonna call Dean. No way I'm walking back again. Come on."

* * *

><p>"Okay so we know a few things. One it's a monster with opposable thumbs and unlimited text messaging, and we know that it wants to kill you specifically. I'm guessing that about sums all of this up." Dean said, pacing back and forth in front of Natalie and Sam.<p>

"It's an Arachne." Sam answered.

Natalie looked over at him, brows creased. "A what?"

"Arachne. I remember now."

"You remembered?" Dean asked. "Okay, great. What else have you remembered?"

"Don't worry." Sam began, raising his hand up to Dean. "It's nothing to do with Hell."

"Not yet, anyway."

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "What can I do, Dean? The stuff is just starting to come back, all right? Maybe it's natural."

"There's a reason that it's a wall Sam." Natalie interrupted. "It's not supposed to allow anything to come through. Unless you start poking at it."

Dean rubbed at his eyes. "Okay. We're leaving."

"What? No, we can't Dean." Sam began to argue.

"We are not the only hunters on the planet, okay? Like Nad said earlier, we can just call Bobby. Hell he and Rufus can come out here and wrap it all up."

"How? Like you said, it could be anybody, we don't have anything for leads." Sam said.

"It hates you. That's all we know." Dean reminded.

"Look, I know who did this. I just...I can't remember."

"I really don't think you understand the risk here, Sam." Dean commented.

"Yes, I do Dean."

"Really? You get that every time you scratch that wall, that you are playing Russian roulette?"

"Dean. I get you are worried...you both are and I know that, okay? And I know what you think is gonna happen. But, you know what? It will or it won't. And I'm starting to think that I might have done some bad stuff here. And so, I don't care if it's dangerous. I have to set things right, because I got a damn soul now, and it won't let me just walk away. So, I'm staying here. And I need you both to back me up."

Natalie and Dean think on it for a moment. Even though they didn't have a solid lead, they had already allowed themselves to dwell in to deep in this case. There really wouldn't be any use to calling Bobby to have him take care of this. But, they both wanted to get Sam out of here and he wasn't going to cooperate. What else could they do?"

"Alright. Fine. Why not? Let's memento this thing."

Dean picked up the map from the table and opened it up, then pinned it against the wall. Natalie ruffled through the box and pulled out the pictures of the victims and pinned them at various points on the map.

Walking back over to the box, she pulled out the pile of article clippings and pulled aside the ones that were pertaining to the picture they already had up. She then handed the clippings over to Sam, who in return, walked back over to the map and pinned them up on the map. Natalie pinned up the last remaining article she found and connected it to one of the pictures and stepped back, scanning over the guide the three of them had made.

Natalie looked back at Sam and saw that his eyes were fixed on the map, though he seemed to be in some kind of trance. "Sam?"

Dean, who had been looking over the map, turned to look at Sam once he heard Natalie. "You okay?"

"I know what happened." Sam finally said. Getting up, Sam walked over to his jacket and dug out his phone from the pocket.

"What are you doing?" Natalie asked.

"Calling Brenna." Sam answered as he dialed out her number.

"Oh and what are you going to tell her?" Dean suddenly asked.

"Relax, Dean. Hey, Brenna, it's Sam. I'm just checking in. Yeah, of course I can swing by. Okay. Bye."

"What was that about?" Dean went on to ask.

"She wants me to swing by."

"What for?" Natalie was the next to ask.

"She said that it was no big deal, but I can tell she's in deep trouble."

* * *

><p>Natalie, Sam and Dean walk up towards the front porch steps and look around. "Nad, Dean, the back door." Natalie and Dean pulled out their guns and walk around the house towards the left and find a shed towards the back where a light was on.<p>

"Sam." Dean quietly motioned him over. "Light on in the shed."

The three of them quietly make their way towards the shed and as they got closer, Natalie couldn't help but feel a little shaken. They were trying to take down an Arachne. That was something she could do without.

"My spidey sense are tingling." Dean joked lightly, earning him a small hit from Natalie.

Sam walked up to the shed door and slowly pushed it open and aimed his gun and walked into the shed, with Dean and Natalie following in suit.

"Sam?"

"Brenna?" Sam looked around before making more of an advance into the shed.

Natalie and Dean keep their guns at hand, their eyes scouting out the small area. Dean is suddenly grabbed from the side and thrown across the room. Natalie turns around and finds Roy standing in front of her and she felt like a little panic-stricken. _Oh god. _Natalie raised her gun, ultimately having it hit out of her hand by Roy and a hit across her face caused her to black out.

...

Natalie slowly woke herself up, her head pounding from the hit she had received from Roy. As she tried to move, Natalie felt herself constrained and looked down, finding that there was webbing around her.

"Oh my god." Natalie quietly said, earning Dean's attention.

"Not a big fan of spiders I'm guessing?" Dean asked.

Natalie's mouth fell agape slightly as she continued to look at down the webs. "No. Not really."

"You got to admit I look good, Sam." Natalie and Dean looked over at Roy who was standing in front of Sam. "Well, except for your little souvenir." Roy said, pointing to his forehead.

"You win. I'm here. Let Brenna Go. This had nothing to do with her."

"You come back around, start hanging out with my wife, and you think this had nothing to do with her?" Roy questioned. "But then...you thought I was out of the way, right? I got to say, you get a hell of a lot wrong, Sam, like that thing you threw me to. You thought it was here to feed."

Sam allowed his gaze on Roy to break as he took his words into consideration. "She was here to breed."

"Yeah. That thing was playing the mating game and I guess I fit her profile. By the time you pulled that trigger, I wasn't human. So bullets didn't hurt me much and neither did fire. After you left, I ran-I hid for months, nearly starved. But you know what kept me going? Every night, I dreamed about ripping your throat out."

Roy stepped away from Sam and walked over to Natalie and knelt down in front of her. Natalie tried to keep her eyes away from him, not wanting to actually look at him. "And in all honesty, I thought I was sending you a sign. The texts? Taking all of those girls you screwed? I was kicking so much sand in your eye, I couldn't figure out why you weren't getting it. Then Brenna tells me you have brain damage. It's just to good."

Natalie began to move her hand towards her back pocket, making sure that her movements weren't to noticeable by Roy. Her fingers brushed over the outline of her knife and grabbed the handle, sliding it out of the pocket. Switching it open, Natalie began to carefully cut away from the webbing.

Sam eyed Roy warily, as he kept his closeness to Natalie. "Where are they, Roy...the women?"

"Scattered. They're like me now. You killed one monster, you made so many more. Congratulations. Now the only question is, do I kills you...or turn you?"

Dean and Natalie both had been thinking alike. During, Sam and Roy's conversation, Dean had also been cutting away at the webbing and he was able to cut himself free. Dean quickly stood up and lunged towards Roy.

Natalie took this as her cue and she began to cut quickly at the webbing. Once she was free, Natalie rushed over to Sam and cut through the webbing with a few swipes. Sam stood up and grabbed his machete that was lying on the ground several feet away and cut off Roy's head in one clean swipe.

Looking at Roy's body on the ground, Natalie gave a visible shake and rubbed at her arm. Dealing with an Arachne. She just hoped that there won't be any more of those in the near future.

* * *

><p>Dean, Sam and Natalie were gathering the rest of their things and putting it in their bags, readying themselves for the ride out of town. Dean looked over at Sam, who had been quiet the entire time.<p>

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"You both were right. We shouldn't have come here." Sam carefully admitted, zipping up his bag.

"Well, you did kill...spider man." Dean replied, finishing his own packing.

"So, you're saying that what I did back there was a good thing?"

"I'm just saying. Sam you have to understand that all that crap last year...none of it was you."

Sam turned to look at Dean. "Let's get this clear. It was me."

Natalie looked over at Sam. "No it wasn't. It wasn't actually you, Sam."

"Yes it was Nad. It was me. And now..." Sam shook his head and turned back to his bag. "Never mind."

"Well, can I get you anything?" Dean asked.

"What are you now, my waitress?" Sam asked.

"I'm just trying to make you feel better. Don't have to be a bitch." Dean picked up his bag and walked past Sam and out the door.

Natalie pursed her lips and looks at Sam. "It's gonna be fine Sam. All of this. It's all gonna turn around for the better." She said, then turned to finish her packing.

"I hope you're right, Nad. But, just knowing what I did here...who knows what else I might have-"

Natalie hears a sudden thud and she looks over seeing Sam on the floor, his body shaking as if he was having a seizure. Natalie dropped her back and ran over to Sam, falling to her knees. "Sam! Hey!"

She braced her both hands on his chest, trying to pull him closer to her. Looking down at his face, his eyes were open, but they weren't focusing on anything and his shaking had diminished into trembling. Natalie watched as his eyes moved wildly around, almost as if he was trying to focus on something, but there was some kind of veil over his sight.

"Sam. Hey! Come on!" Natalie tried to talk him into snapping out of this. Her other hand coming up to rest against his cheek. "Dean! Dean!"

Sam's trembling slowly disappeared and his breathing, that at first was heavy and labored, had now become quick huffs of breath. His eyes slowly closed and his breathing swirled into nothing.

Natalie's hand that was braced against his chest, could no longer feel movement that would have told her he was still breathing. Her eyes scanned over his face and her hand grabbed onto the fabric from Sam's jacket.

"Sam?" Her hand tapped against the side of his face that didn't bring out a response from him. "Dean! Dean get in here now!" Natalie nearly shrieked out in her panic.

Natalie slid her hand under Sam's head and elevated it and brought her other hand up to his cheek. "Sam, come on." Natalie heard the door being thrown open and she had to suck in several breaths to find her voice. "Dean! Come here."

Dean quickly rushed over to Natalie and knelt down next to Sam's opposite side. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He just passed out. It looked like he was having some kind of seizure." Natalie explained, though she couldn't help the way her voice broke towards the end.

Dean brushed back Sam's hair and braced his hand against his chest. "Sammy? Hey?" Dean kept his eyes focused on his brother, hoping that talking to him would try and bring him out of this. But, seconds turned into minutes and both Natalie and Dean could feel their helplessness digging a deeper hole.

Sam's eyes flew open and he took in a slow, wheezing breath. Natalie and Dean move closer to Sam, who was still trying to make sense of what happened.

"Sammy? You all right?" Dean asked, taking a hold of Sam's arm.

Sam only answered with a tired groan.

"Okay, come on." Dean and Natalie take hold of Sam's arms and pulled him back up to his feet. Sam leaned towards Natalie, who braced her arm around his back.

"Get him out to the car Nad."

Natalie nodded and began to carefully walk Sam out of the house and towards the car. "Come on Sam. We're gonna get you out of here."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it?! Next chapter is the confrontation between Natalie and Elais so don't miss it! until next time! Xx<strong>


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N: And here we are the confrontation between Natalie and Elais, hope you guys are excited for this and I HOPE that I deliver! I decided to just make it one __**long **__chapter, so I hope you all don't mind. We also get to see Natalie being kind of a badass in this chapter (which I love to write). Also flashbacks will be italicized. I'm also having this chapter replace episode 14, just to clear that up._

_On another note, WHAT DID YOU ALL THINK OF THE 200TH EPISODE?! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Dare I say that I felt it was perfect. A shout out to all us fans. _

_Anyways, lets get on with the chapter shall we!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Sam washed a hand down his face, taking in a few deep breaths, trying to reorient himself from the sleep he had just woken up from. Sam pulled his hand away and stowed both of them into his jacket pockets, before sitting down on the front hood of the Impala.<p>

The past week had been spent on making sure that Sam was well. Natalie and Dean had been watching him closely, making sure to look out for signs that his wall might have actually collapsed, which was the one thing that terrified them the most. Luckily, Sam was able to draw back from the event and spent most of his time sleeping it off. From what they both saw, Sam's wall was still up and running...for now at least.

Though, the last couple of days had been oddly quiet. Natalie was gone. She had received a call from Clara, telling her that they managed to track down the demon Elais. Sam at first, was a little caught off guard when he heard this, ultimately, having to remind himself of that whole situation.

Upon hearing the news, Natalie wanted nothing more than to return to Clara and begin their search. But, to go and leave Sam when he was in a vulnerable state, Natalie wanted to stay and help him. It was either stay or go. Natalie didn't want to even acknowledge the possibility of Dean and Sam going with her. This was something that _she _had to do on her own, though that wasn't the only reason why she wanted them to stay behind.

Now, Dean and Sam were in Akron, Ohio. Sam had heard about a possible case and ultimately convinced Dean to take it.

Dean picked up the two cups of coffee and the burgers he had purchased. Burgers and coffee, not really the most popular combination, but it would do for both of them. Besides, Sam could use the energy that caffeine offered. Turning away from the food truck, Dean casted his gaze up for a brief second, long enough to see that Sam had woken up from his slumber.

"Nice to see you up and slightly running." Dean commented, setting down the bag on the car near Sam. "Here. This should give you some energy." Dean said, handing one of the cups to Sam, who took it gratefully.

"How long was I out for this time?" Sam asked, taking a quick sip from his drink.

"A couple of hours."

Sam gave a small wince and exhaled sharply. "Have you heard from Nad?"

Dean pulled out a burger and handed it to Sam then took one out for himself. "Yeah. She called me once I pulled into town."

"Why didn't you let me talk to her?"

"You were sleeping. And she didn't want to wake you up. Neither did I. That was a serious episode you had back there in Bristol."

"Yeah, I know Dean." Sam lazily unwrapped the burger. "But, I'm fine now."

"Right." Dean replied skeptically, taking a bite out of his burger.

"What did Nad say?" Sam asked, hoping to switch the conversation.

"Not much. They were headed out to Columbia, Missouri. That's where they know he's at."

"I wonder why she didn't let us go with her." Sam commented, not really directing it towards Dean, who in return, raised his brows at this.

…..

_"You sure you don't want us to go with you?" Dean asked, knowing that there was a part of him that felt she shouldn't go without him and Sam. _

_Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. I really don't want you two to see me when..." Her voice trailed off, hoping she didn't have to go further with it. _

_Dean only nodded._

_"Plus, you and Sam were here when I...tortured that demon." She went on to say, making sure to keep her voice quiet towards the end. "I don't want Sam to start remembering that. Also, he's still recovering from his episode." _

_"I get that." Dean replied. "Well, if you're hunting this demon...you're gonna need this." Dean pulled out Ruby's knife._

_"No...Dean." _

_"Nad you're gonna need it." Dean handed the knife over to Natalie, though she was still hesitant on taking it. It was only one knife like this and Dean was handing it over to her to use. "Come on Nad." _

_Natalie sighed and reluctantly took the knife from Dean. _

_"You get that son of a bitch, Nad." _

_Natalie lips twitched into a faint smile that was met with a small laugh. "You two try not to get into to much trouble, until I get back." _

_"Can't make any guarantees." _

_Natalie stepped forward and slowly wrapped her arms around Dean's neck and then felt a slight sense of urgency. "Please. Don't tell Sam anything. No matter how much he asks. I'll tell him if I have to. But, promise me you won't say anything." _

_Dean secured his arms around Natalie and gave a few gentle rubs on her back. "I promise Nad."_

…..

"Dean?"

Dean blinked a couple of times and shook his head, taking himself out of his little trance. "Sorry." He quickly apologized then remembered Sam's words. "Nad just thought it would be best if we didn't go. With the whole situation with you. Plus, it's something she needs to see through by herself."

Sam studied his brother for a moment, eyes narrowing in thought. The way Dean looked, the way his shoulders seemed to tense, it told Sam that something was up. He just couldn't really put his finger on it. For now, he decided to just leave his questioning to the side.

"I just hope everything goes well for them." Sam finally admitted.

"Me too."

Sam gave a small jump when he remembered something he wanted to discuss. "Hey, Dean. There's something I wanna ask...I've been thinking about it since we dropped her off."

Dean raised his brows at Sam, taking a bite out of his burger. "What's that?"

Sam's brows furrowed in his concentration at the memories that had been poking at him. They were coming in quick successions. He wasn't able to determine much from them, other than little details.

"That house we dropped Nad off at..."

"David and Jake's house." Dean finished.

"Yeah." Sam took in a breath. "Have we been there before?"

Dean's expression when blank, though in his mind he swore to himself.

"It's just...I don't know. It looked really familiar."

"Well, you have to remember. You're mind is still jumbled up with the whole situation with that wall in your head."

Sam nodded, not exactly buying Dean's explanation, but by the way he said it, Sam felt that it was something not to really be discussed. At least not right now.

"Yeah, I guess."

Dean looked over at his brother, seeing that he was still focused on the fact that he seemed to recognize that place. To snap him out of his, Dean gave a quick pat on Sam's shoulder.

"Come on, eat up. Then we'll go check out this case you were nagging me to take."

* * *

><p>"Columbia, Missouri. And you're sure that's where Elais is at?" Natalie asked, looking over at Clara, who was currently driving.<p>

"Elais is back in that town, after his little 'vacation'. He's staying there for good. So, this is our chance to go and get him."

Natalie nodded and pursed her lips to the side. "You know it's kind of surreal."

"What is?"

"For the longest time, this search for him was endless...and now, you and I are on the road, trying to go and find him."

Clara tightened her hands on the steering wheel and nodded solemnly. "Yeah. It's been a long haul. I'm just glad that we were able to finally track him down. I mean no more dead ends or wrong turns."

Natalie remained silent, still trying to grasp the fact that they were on their way to him. She just wanted to get to him and end it. Once this was all over, they wouldn't have to worry about trying to find him. It would be done and over with.

"So, how is Sam and Dean?" Clara finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Natalie breathed out a sigh and pressed her hand up to her forehead. "So much...has happened Aunt Clara. Sam is _Sam._ He's back to his normal self, which I am very happy about. But, this wall in his head is just...he's testing it. Testing it a little to much and...I just hope when I get back to them, he won't be a mess."

"Well, you still have Dean with him. And I know, he won't let Sam do anything to jeopardize the walls job."

"Aunt Clara there's something I need to talk to you about." Natalie suddenly said, seeming to steer the topic in a whole new direction.

Clara raised her brows at Natalie's words and answered with a few nods. "What is it?"

Biting down on her lip, Natalie sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. The whole thing with Death and his warning to her had been increasingly nagging at her. She hasn't told Sam or Dean. She just needed to tell _someone. _

"You remember how I went to Dr. Robert." Natalie waited for Clara to nod before continuing. "Well, when I was 'dead' and I was talking with Death, he...he said something to me. And I just don't know what to make of it."

Clara settled more into her seat and casted Natalie a quick look to tell her she was listening.

"He told me that, something drastic was coming my way...and that it would be good if I kept an eye out."

Clara kept her eyes on the road, though Natalie could see her brows furrow in confusion. Much like how Natalie felt when she first heard the warning.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is that supposed to be a warning?"

Natalie shrugged and shook her head.

"Something coming your way." Clara repeated. "So, something is gonna happen to you? Did he say anything else?"

"N-no. That's all he said."

"Well, what are you supposed to make of that?" Clara quickly questioned and Natalie could hear what sounded like a small panic in her voice. Clara felt like that warning was towards a threat that was directed at Natalie. Of course she would be worried.

"I don't know, Aunt Clara! That's why I'm telling you." Natalie fought back, but there was no harshness in her voice. "I've been on edge the past week because something went wrong during a hunt and I..." Natalie pursed her lips upon thinking about the event. "I messed up and it just got me thinking...is something gonna happen to me on a hunt?"

Natalie looked over at Clara, seeing her shake her head in denial at Natalie's words. "I mean, this hunt right now...going after Elais...am I gonna-"

"Nad. Don't." Clara interrupted, not wanting to hear Natalie say the whole thing.

"Aunt Clara I'm being serious. What if Death was trying to point out to me that, I could seriously mess up and get myself-"

"Natalie that's enough!" Clara's voice boomed out as her hand banged against the steering wheel. "I know exactly what you're thinking and I want you to stop right now. That's not what he was talking about."

Natalie kept her eyes focused on Clara, searching for any sign that she might not actually believe what she was saying. "What am I supposed to do Aunt Clara? Going around, doing hunts, always being paranoid that something is going to happen to me?" She quietly asked.

Clara pursed her lips together and swallowed. "Natalie. Death never actually told you what was coming. For all we know, it might not even be something to be to concerned about. Yes, I know, something drastic...but, maybe he, himself, doesn't know the full extent of it. You just need to try and not think about it."

"How can I not?" Natalie quickly asked. "I mean when Death tells you to watch your back, sorry, I'm gonna be a little paranoid."

Clara sighed heavily and brushed her hand across her forehead. "Does Sam and Dean know about this?"

The immediate silenced that followed Clara's question, already told her the answer. "Are you going to tell them?" Clara went onto ask.

Natalie blew out a breath and looked down at her lap. "I don't know. They've both noticed that I've been off the past week. But, I never told them."

"You think that it might be best if you do?" Clara casted a quick glance over to Natalie. "I mean, Sam and Dean-hell even Bobby, might be able to help you with this."

"There's nothing that can be done. Death said that I was gonna have to see through it myself. So, I basically have to sit...and wait for, whatever it is he is talking about, to come to me."

A silence soon filled the void between them. It was so heavy that they could almost actually _physically _feel it around them. It was like an enormous amount of pressure was pushing down on them.

Natalie began to immediately regret even bringing this up. She should have waited for a more suitable moment, not when they were going to hunt down their demon. But, Clara was right. Natalie was going to have to tell Sam and Dean. Keeping this from them had only proved to be a big hindrance to her.

Clara tapped her fingers against the wheel and pursed her lips together. This silence was very unbearable for both of them, yet neither of them tried to make a conversation. Clara knew, that Natalie was still thinking about it. _She can't keep doing this. _Clara thought to herself. Natalie needed to clear her mind from this, if she doesn't, then it would only create a distraction for her. And now, Clara needed Natalie to be more focused than ever.

Reaching over, Clara grasped hold of Natalie's arm, allowing Natalie to look over at her. "Natalie. Stop thinking about it for just this time, all right? The more you think about, your paranoia is going to get worst. You need to have a clear mind right now. You can't afford to have your thoughts elsewhere. All right?"

"Yeah. All right." Natalie folded her arms over her chest, which signaled for Clara to let go of her arm, which she did. "So, tell me, what's our plan? I mean we left their house so fast we never actually got to talk about it."

"Right." Clara cleared her throat. "Well, we know that Elais is most likely going to be at the business that Aaron owns and also he's got guards on the grounds. So we'll need to take them out."

"That should be easy enough." Natalie pulled out Ruby's knife and eyed it for a brief moment. "No doubt they're demons as well. So, we take out the watchers outside and then we make our way inside."

"That's why we are waiting until the business sends everyone else home. Then we'll sneak our way in. Elais is going to be staying late from a message we managed to gain him hacking into his phone. David and Jake will stay out in their car, keeping surveillance in the building."

Natalie looked over at Clara, her brows raised up. "Jake and David found out how to hack into the security surveillance?" She asked amused.

Clara let out a small laugh and nodded. "It was actually very entertaining to watch. You would think, they helped track down Elais, hacking into security surveillance should be easy."

"Wish I could've been there to see that." Natalie replied with a smirk.

"Are you ready for this Nad?" Clara asked.

They both knew that this was something they had been waiting for, for the past year. All of their searching, hunting, torturing demons and meeting several frustrated dead ends...it was all now coming to a close. Natalie didn't know whether to feel happy or nervous. Anything could go wrong during this. Clara could get seriously hurt and so could Natalie.

When Natalie was dropped off, she really didn't get a chance to really discuss this with Clara or Jake or even David. They immediately got everything together, packed up the cars and headed out. Not enough time for Natalie to really grasp the situation until now. They were about three hours away from Columbia and the full reality is now starting to sink in.

"Aunt Clara, we've been waiting for this for a while now. I think I'm ready. In all honesty, I just want to get it done and over with. Get rid of him so we don't have to worry about it. He'll be one less thing we need to worry about."

* * *

><p>The building looked like any other kind of business building, though it was bigger than usual size and there were guards near the front entrance. Therefore, two cars were parked behind the building, a little bit away from the location. With night already fallen, they were now fully prepared to go with the plan.<p>

Inside the van, David and Jake had the security surveillance up and running on their laptops. They had been watching the live footage for the past thirty minutes, figuring that there was a pattern that was going on between the three guards near the front entrance.

Natalie opened the van door and stepped in. "So, what have you two been able to figure out?" She asked, taking a seat next to Jake.

"Well, this guy." Jake pointed to the one on the right. "About every two minutes, he and the one on the far right, will break away from their post and start patrolling towards the opposite sides. Then they'll round the corner and walk halfway down, which means you'll have to take this one out, then the one still remaining at the door. You'll only have about five seconds before the other comes back around." He finished gesturing towards the guy on the left. "Also, I was able to replace the live footage with pre-recorded footage, so you should be good with that."

Natalie pursed her lips and nodded. "Awesome. This shouldn't be to hard. How long has it been since they last broke?"

Jake took a quick glance at his watch. "You got about three minutes before they start their next patrol."

"Right then."

Natalie hopped out of the open door and turned to Clara, who was leaning towards the opening. "I'm gonna go and take out those guys, then we're gonna make our way in."

"David and Jake will be watching through the camera feed. They'll let me know when I should head over."

Natalie nodded and looked back at David and Jake, who were both still to preoccupied with the footage. "Right. Well, here I go."

"You sure that you'll be able to do this?"

Natalie pursed her lips to the side. "Well, I did learn a little bit more from you during the past year. Think it's time for me to flex those teachings a little bit." Tracing over the outline of the knife that was resting in her belt line, Natalie gave the three of them one last nod before walking away from the car.

The van was parked on an unpaved, abandoned road that led to god only knows where. It was the most secluded place they could find, which provided Natalie enough cover to quickly jog towards the back of the building.

Reaching the back left corner of the building, Natalie immediately pressed her body up against the brick wall. _I got about less than a minute. _Her right hand extended out and pressed her palm against the cool and rough brick then began to slowly walk along down the siding.

As the end of the wall came nearer, Natalie reached for the knife with her left hand and pulled it out, grasping onto the handle. Once she came to the end, Natalie took in a quiet breath and slowly peeked her head out from behind the wall, long enough to see that the two men were just beginning to turn and start their patrol and one of them was coming right towards her.

_Right on schedule._

Natalie retracted and braced her back fully against the wall, her eyes closing and her breathing had become quiet and labored, despite the fact that her heart was pounding against her chest.

Footsteps scraped against the concrete as they came closer and closer to the edge of the building. Natalie opened her eyes and turned her head to look, knowing that at any second he would start to turn. On the ground in front of her, Natalie could see his shadow slowly grow bigger as he made his way closer to his destination.

_At least there's some sort of light source. _Natalie thought to herself.

Finally, the footsteps resonated nearly right next to Natalie and moving her gaze up, she could see his body just beginning to creep out from the corner. Stepping out from behind the wall, Natalie caught him off guard, but he wasn't able to react quick enough.

Bringing her left hand up, she stabbed the knife into the demon's throat and quickly braced her other hand over his mouth, to muffle any kind of cries he might yell out. His eyes erupted in a fast, blinking white light and soon the light diminished and she allowed his body to fall to the ground.

In the process of him falling, Natalie yanked the knife from the demon's throat and saw that she had caught the attention of the demon that was remaining near the front door. Taking the knife, she tossed it up and caught the handle and began to walk towards him. After marking her aim, Natalie threw the knife at the demon, snagging him in the chest with a sickening thud.

Picking up her pace, knowing that her time was almost up, reaching the demon, she pulled the knife out of his chest before he could fall, and right as she reached the far left end, the last demon just began to round the corner and Natalie quickly stabbed him in the stomach.

When the light from his eyes dimmed out, Natalie pushed the limp body away from her, allowing the knife to slide out from the wound. Taking a look down at the body in front of her, then turning around to look at the others, Natalie hummed to herself.

"That actually wasn't that bad."

Looking up at the security camera that was pointing at her, Natalie gave it a thumbs up, knowing that David and Jake were watching her. Fixing her eyes back on the door, Natalie breathed out a sigh. "Now here comes the fun part."

….

The inside of the building was very quiet. Everyone was gone. All of the employees had gone home for the day. From the main floors, the echoing footsteps coming up the stairwells would have been easily heard if anyone was in the building. Although, that wasn't necessarily the case, which was something Natalie noticed right from the start.

Pushing through the stairwell door, Natalie and Clara found themselves on the third floor, which was the information level. Looking around Natalie furrowed her brows. "Okay, I know that this place is closed and everyone has gone home but...doesn't it seem to quiet to you? Where are the guards inside?

"I'm not sure." Clara answered as she walked over to the main receptionist desk and began to rummage through, looking for which level Elais would be on.

Natalie ventured off down one of the small hallways that was located near the receptionist desk. A door on the left side read the words 'security' and it was only just slightly opened. Natalie braced her hand against the door and pushed it opened, to find that the surveillance room was empty. No sign that anyone might have been there for the past few hours at least.

Seeing this, Natalie's brows immediately creased and she quietly closed the door. Walking out of the small hallway, she pointed back at the door. "There is no security here. This place is empty."

"I got it. Elais will be on the seventh floor." Clara said, seeming to not have heard what Natalie said.

"Aunt Clara." Natalie spoke up again and waited for Clara to look at her. "The surveillance room is empty. No one is in there."

Clara's brows furrowed as she looked down at the door where Natalie was still pointing at. Unfortunately, Clara didn't know what to say about it. That didn't seem like something Elais would let happen.

"You think maybe he knows we were gonna be here?" Natalie asked.

Clara pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek and slowly shook her head. "I don't know Nad."

"Well, whether he's expecting us or not, let's go get this son of a bitch."

Natalie turned away from the desk, with Clara following closely behind, and the two of them made their way out into the stairwell and began to ascend to the seventh floor. The whole time, Natalie's mind was buzzing with her small discovery and it was bothering her. _Why were there no security?_

Elais isn't stupid, Natalie knows this, so why would he allow there to be no one watching the building, aside from a few lousy demons. He knows better than that. He had to know that they were going to be here. Three demons guarding were to easy to take down. Natalie was honestly expecting something more vast. She didn't know what exactly was waiting for them on the seventh floor. A whole group of demons they would need to take down or Elais. Maybe both. She had no idea what to expect and it was making her nerves start to go on end.

Finally reaching the stop of the seventh floor, Natalie pulled out her knife and quietly opened the stairway door. Leaning out, she looked down the hall one way and then the other, not seeing anyone, she stepped out and held the door open long enough for Clara to get out. The seventh floor wasn't much, not like the other floor they had seen.

This one was a lot smaller, a small lounge area greeted them right as they stepped out, a few couches and a decent sized table in the middle. Down to the right, there were three doors, one of them leading to a kitchen and the other two, Natalie couldn't make out.

Then towards the left was the only door on that side and they both could see the name 'Aaron Whitfield' on the door tag.

Natalie looked over at Clara, and gestured towards the door before slowly making her way over to it. Keeping her knife close to her, Natalie reached her hand out towards the door knob and grabbed onto it. Clara leaned up against the door, facing Natalie, both of them looking at each other, their eyes locking. Both of them silently asking the other whether they were ready.

They were finally here. No turning back. Get in and get the job done.

Taking in a deep breath, Natalie gave Clara a nod and mouthed "On three. One. Two. Three."

Natalie turned the handle and pushed her body against the door, shoving it open. Her hand raised, ready to mark her aim on Elais. But, as her eyes began scanning throughout the office, Natalie could feel her demeanor slowly being crushed.

Elais wasn't here.

Everything that had been building up to this, all of the planning and the damn determination to get this done, all began to slowly disappear. Natalie dropped her arms to her side as she fully entered the office.

"He's not here." Natalie's voice mixed in with the silence. "He knew that we were gonna be here and now...we lost him."

Clara turned her gaze away from Natalie, not knowing what she could say right now. They were certain that he would be here. Someone must have tipped him about their plans...but who?

"Nad-"

"No." Natalie turned to Clara, her eyes already emanating a hardened determination. "We just need to go back and retrace everything. He has to be somewhere in Columbia, right? So we just have to find any other locations that he might be at."

"Nad. Listen to me-"

A small beeping came out of nowhere and it was continuous. Natalie turned back around to face Aaron's desk, her eyes slowly looking around her. Until they came upon a cell phone that was resting on the desk, though Natalie wondered why she didn't see it before.

Natalie picked up the phone, cautiously, and saw that there was a message notification. Her brows furrowed as she opened up the text and her expression immediately went blank.

_Did you really think it was going to be that easy? This was all just a little fun. I'll be at Parks & James. _

…_._

"Okay, Parks & James is an old abandoned workplace that is near the outskirts of town. It's been abandoned for several years." Jake informed Natalie once he had found a reliable resource.

"So, he sent a message to a phone that he left...just so you could find it. All of this was nothing more than to just mess with you?" David was the next to ask.

"Apparently." Natalie quietly replied, mulling over the events that had already taken place.

The four of them fell into a silence, thinking about how all of their work they had done this past year, it brought them here. And now, Elais knows that they were coming after him. Who knows what he has in store for Natalie once she actually gets to the location he sent her.

As she continued mulling over this, Natalie could start to hear Death's warning swirling around in her mind again. Now that they were just standing around, trying to figure out what to do next, she allowed herself to get lost in those words. _This could be it. _Natalie thought. _Whatever Death was warning me about, this could possibly be it. _

Natalie bit down on her bottom lip and pulled out her phone from her pocket. She just realized that it had been hours since she last spoke with Dean and she didn't get to talk with Sam, since he was sleeping when she called. Natalie quickly dialed out the number and pressed the phone up to her ear before taking a few steps away from the van.

After a few rings, Natalie was only met with Dean's voicemail.

"Hey, Dean. Um, you're probably doing a case right now so I'm gonna make this quick. Just wanted to check in see how...you and Sam are doing. This hunt kind of took a different turn...but, don't worry, everything's fine. Just need to come up with a new plan is all. So that's really it. I guess I'll call you when it's all done with."

Natalie remained on the phone, thinking about whether there was more for her to say. Feeling that this was enough, Natalie pulled her phone away and ended the call.

"I have to go there." Natalie spoke up as she turned to walk back over to David, Jake and Clara. "I have to go and see him. Finish this once and for all."

"Nad, you have no idea what's gonna happen if you do though." Jake commented.

"I don't care. I got Aunt Clara on the search for him and then I dragged you both into two have done enough with this. You should stay here while I go and take care of it."

"Well you're not going to go alone." Clara spoke up. "I would be stupid if I just let you go off without me."

Natalie tried to suppress a small smile. "Guess there's no use to try and get you to stay here."

"Not a chance." Clara said, motioning over towards the car, which was answered by Natalie walking over to it. "You two stay here. I'll call once it's all finished." Clara said, turning back to David and Jake.

"Good luck." David offered which Clara accepted with a small smile.

* * *

><p>Natalie pushed open the door, which caused an eerie creak to echo throughout the building. Clara and Natalie poked their heads in, seeing nothing but darkness. Though towards the back of the building, where a staircase was, light was cascading down the steps, signaling that Elais was indeed here. Unless he lied in the text and this was just another attempt to piss Natalie off.<p>

Stepping fully into the building, they both allowed the door to close behind them, which made Natalie jump at the sudden noise. They made their way over to the staircase and began to ascend them. Reaching the top, Clara and Natalie were met with the entryway to a huge room that was being illuminated.

As a precaution, Natalie slowly reached for the knife, keeping her hand close to the handle as she and Clara stepped into the room. Although, looking around, Natalie found that there was no one here and her lips pursed in the sudden annoyance that was bubbling within her.

_He's messing with me again._

Turning back to her Aunt, Clara could see that Natalie was only just barely holding onto this heated annoyance about this whole situation. She wasn't going to lie, this was getting ridiculous.

Just as this thought crept into Clara's mind, the lights in the room began to flicker. Natalie's eyes immediately casted up, her gaze fixing on the flickering bulbs as her hand gently took hold of the knife's handle, ready to pull it out. The flickering ceased abruptly, causing Natalie to blinked a couple of times due to the quick change in lighting.

"Well, hello there." A voice suddenly appeared and Natalie turned around and found a young man standing in front of her. Aaron, if you could still call him that, was someone that Natalie had to admit, wasn't that bad looking. Deep chestnut brown hair and his eyes were dark, almost to the point of being black, which was ironic since he was now possessed by a demon.

"I have to say that this meeting is _long _overdue." Elais went onto say, stuffing his hands into his suit pockets.

Natalie eyed him and finally let out a breathy laugh. "Nice package." She said, gesturing at Aaron's body.

Elais gave her a smirk and he looked down at his vessel. "You think so? I thought he would be a great fit. And I was right."

Once he was done admiring the body that he was wearing, Elais looked back up at Natalie and Clara. His eyes staring both of them down, though he seemed to be more interested in Natalie.

"Well, this is quite something. Finally, the Collins were able to catch up to me." Elais lifted his wrist and looked down at his watch with a mocking pout. "Took you long enough."

Natalie's eyes narrowed. "Screw off. You were the one who was running off, hiding your tracks. More like a coward in my eyes."

Elais scoffed and placed a hand to his chest, acting hurt. "Oh, Natalie, I'm hurt but such words like that." He then dropped his hand and leaned forward. "What do you expect? Of course I covered my tracks. Come on, I'm a demon. It's part of the whole job description. You know, evade hunters as much as possible."

"That didn't really last long now did it?"

Elais answered her words with a chuckle. "Well here we are. Finally, I am able to meet you Natalie. Properly, You have always been something I've had my eye on for a while."

"Yeah. That makes me feel special." Natalie bit back. "So, why didn't you just kill me when you had the chance?"

Elais raised his shoulders up in a long and overdrawn shrug. "You weren't exactly my first target to go after. That was saved for your father."

At the mention of her father, Natalie could feel her blood begin to boil. He killed her father and he had the nerve to even mention him. "You could have gotten me that night also. When you...killed my dad."

"Oh no. After seeing your reaction at him being ripped to shreds, I thought to myself, that's something I would love to see again. I mean seriously your face that night." Elais contorted his face into a mocking expression of what Natalie looked like when she saw her father killed.

This did it for Clara. She stepped forward only to be stopped by Natalie bracing her arm in front of her.

Elais finally let down the made up face and let out a laugh. "That was to good. So, I told myself that I would save you for last. After your dad, I was debating who to take next. And then, out of nowhere, I hear that your brother died, in a car accident above anything else. I have to say, what happened to your brother was a fortunate event. One less Collins to worry about."

Natalie's hand tightened around the handle of the knife and she slowly pulled it out from her belt line and held it at her side.

"And then it was just you, your Aunt and sister. I'll tell you one thing though, that one right there." Elais raised a finger towards Clara. "She really knows how to keep people protected."

"Yeah, well, that certainly is a charm isn't it?" Natalie bit back. "So, what was with the whole fake-out back at your place?"

With a rolled of his eyes, Elais gasped out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, come on. Can't I have just a little fun? I knew that you were on the way here. This past year, I saw a decrease in the number of demons in my inner circle. All of the reports I was given...demons being taken and interrogated...tortured."

Raising his finger in a scolding matter, Elais began to make _tsk _noises. "You know Natalie...I didn't appreciate that at all. You torturing those demons...my brothers."

Natalie tilted her head to the side and pouted her lips. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings? That's to bad, because I really enjoyed torturing those demons. It made me feel..._alive._" Natalie finished with a bit to much enthusiasm for Clara's taste and apparently, sparked something in Elais as well.

His face hardened considerably and his jawline clenched. "You know Natalie, this past year you have _really _been creating trouble for me. You and your whole damn family."

Natalie raised her arms up and smirked. "Well, you couldn't finish us off. So whatever problems we've created for you is all your fault. You aren't able to finish what you started you pathetic piece of _shit._ And all of this was...what? Just the result of a tantrum you were throwing because my family was able to stop Amdusias."

Elais gave a small twitch on the side of his mouth at her mentioning that name. "Your family destroyed my leader. The only one I was faithful to. Your family took that away from me. Destroyed not only Amdusias, but my fellow brothers. You all took _so _much away from me."

"Strange. Guess you and I are on the same boat, aren't we? You killed my mother, my father and practically wiped my family off the map. You think that you're better than them...you'll never be. Because my family were able to blast those sons of bitches back to where they belong."

"You really don't know what you have gotten yourself into Natalie." Elais commented, his expression not lighting up one bit.

"Actually, I do. I've been waiting to finish this for a long time."

Elais finally softened his face and tilted his head to the side, giving her a small smile. "Fine. Enough with the pleasant conversation." He raised his hand and Clara was flung out of the room and her body hit against the wall outside, knocking her out. "Let's begin shall we?"

Natalie raised her knife when the lights in the room suddenly went out and Elais disappeared. Standing in the dark, Natalie knew that she was practically screwed. There was no light source, save for the moonlight that was streaming through the dirtied windows, but even that wasn't enough to provide useful light. Clara was out in the hallway, unconscious and Elais could be anywhere in this room. He could be standing right behind her and she wouldn't even know it.

Natalie kept her knife leveled as she began to take small steps, moving away from her position. She couldn't see a damn thing, so she would have to settle with using her hearing. It was better than nothing. Despite the fact she couldn't see, Natalie kept looking left and right, in an attempt to try and keep herself as aware as possible. Natalie had been so caught up in listening for anything that she walked right into one of the wooden beams and she jumped back, then reached her hand out to touch the wood and she silently cursed.

The lights flickered back on and she found herself in the middle of the room, facing one of the many wooden beams. Turning around, Elais suddenly appeared in front of her and raised his fist, swinging a hit towards her face.

Natalie ducked down, avoiding the hit and threw a punch into his stomach and stood fully up, grabbing the arm that he had used to try and hit her, then raised her other arm and elbowed him in the face. He quickly recovered from the hit and yanked her arm away and grabbed hold of her neck. Having a firm grasp, Elais then threw her across the room.

Natalie's body crashed through one of the plastered walls and her body fell on top of the pile of ruble that had been creating from the wall she was thrown through. Groaning from the impact, Natalie only just noticed that the knife was no longer in her hand. Rolling to her side, she saw the knife lying just a few feet in front of her. Then both her and Elais were eyeing the knife and Natalie jumped to her feet and bolted after the weapon.

Elais raised his hand up and with a flick of the wrist, he threw Natalie towards the left side of the room, her body smashing against the window, causing the shards to scatter all over the floor. Natalie whimpered weakly as her body fell to the floor and her eyes looked down at her right side, spotting a shard of glass sticking out. Hearing Elais approaching, Natalie quickly took hold of the glass and pulled it out, letting out a painful scream from the action and threw the piece of glass to the other side.

Picking up the knife, Natalie stumbled back up to her feet and side-swept the weapon, creating a cut across his chest, but it wasn't a kill injury. While he was trying to recover from the injury, Natalie brought the knife back up and attempted to stab him in the chest, but since she was now weakened from her injury, her balance was slightly off kilter. This was his advantage.

Elais grabbed Natalie's arm that had the knife and threw a punch across her face, effectively getting her to drop the knife from the impact. He then kicked her legs out from under her, sending Natalie to the ground with a loud thud.

Natalie quickly got onto her hands and knees and began the process of trying to crawl away from him, but only managed to get herself trapped near the wall.

Seeing Natalie crawl, only made Elais laugh at how pathetic she looked, at least in his eyes. Elais knelt down in front of Natalie, grasped the folds of her jacket, and yanked her up until her back was pressed the against the wall.

"Look at you. It's hard to believe that you're actually a Collins. Because you actually look pathetic." Elais brought his fist up and punched Natalie in the face. When she fell to the side, he straightened her back up until she was facing him.

"You know Natalie, looking at you now, I can now understand the most important thing about you." He finished with another punch across her face and once again, straightened her to face him again.

"You act all tough. Like you can take on anything that is thrown at you. But in reality." Another punch swept across her bloodied and now, swollen face. "You're nothing but a scared little girl."

Another punch across the face.

Natalie whimpered from that last punch and weakly reached up and grabbed onto his arm that was still holding onto her jacket folds. She was becoming delirious. Her head was pounding, the injury on her right side was bleeding and the pain was excruciating. Blood was filling her mouth to the point it was streaming out the sides of her mouth and her right eye was just starting to swell to the point that seeing out of it would be impossible.

"You have been such...a pain in my ass!" Elais screamed out as he threw two more punches across her face. "And now I can finish what I started. First with you, then your Aunt...then I'll move onto your sister...and her daughter."

Natalie gave a weak head shake at the mention of her sister and Emy. She needed to try and get him off of her, but what could she do? She was injured and she felt like she was slowly losing consciousness from the punches that he was throwing at her. Natalie had not way to defend herself now.

Elais threw a couple more punches across Natalie's face and judging by how limp her body was becoming, he knew that he was almost finished with her. Until a small whimper from the other side of the room caught his attention. He turned and looked out of the entryway at Clara, who was just starting to regain consciousness. It was then a small smirk played at his lips. Turning back to Natalie, he could see that she was still hanging on, just barely, and her eyes were focused on Clara. But, for a brief second they looked up at him. Elais broaden his smirk into a full on smile as he stood up and turned around, making his way to Clara.

Natalie, even though her vision was hazy and her capability to keep a good balance while standing up, looked to be almost impossible. Instead, Natalie looked to her left and saw the knife lying just a few feet away from her and looking at Elais, she knew that he was going to kill Clara. _I need to do something. _

Natalie pushed herself onto her right side, which was bleed profusely, and began to scoot her body towards the knife. With her left arm stretched out, her vision was going in and out of focus, making the knife appear as two, confusing her as to which one was the real one. The tips of her fingers finally brushed the handle and Natalie pulled the knife into her grasp.

With the knife in her hand, Natalie, painfully, pushed herself back up into a sitting position and braced her feet on the ground. With as much strength as she could conjure, Natalie braced her back against the wall and pushed down on her feet, sliding her back up the wall enough to where she was in a decent standing position. Knowing that her balance was still off, she was using the wall as a counteract to help keep her up.

Her eyes set deadlocked on Elais and he was getting farther away from Natalie and she had to act quick. If only her damn sight would focus for just a few seconds. Natalie blinked and widened her eyes, trying to coax her sight into aligning for her to get a good aim. Slowly her vision merged within each other, creating a clear picture for Natalie, but she knew it would last for only a few seconds. Raising the knife, Natalie narrowed her eyes, focusing more on Elais and then took in a deep breath.

Conjuring up as much upper strength as she could, Natalie threw the knife and her balance went off and she stumbled forward and fell onto her hands and knees. Looking up, even though her vision was blurry, Natalie could make out the outline of Elais dropping to his knees. She got her target.

_Got you. You son of a bitch._

Natalie pushed herself back up to her feet and stumbled over to Elais, still able to hear him choking and groaning from a knife embedded in his back, Natalie had to finish the job. Once she was close, Natalie grabbed the handle and yanked the knife out and then stabbed him again in the back. Elais let out a shrill yell as he turned and fell on his back.

Looking down at him, Natalie was slightly annoyed that he still wasn't dead yet. Natalie, limply, straddled over him and grasped the knife handle with both hands and brought the knife down in his chest. Though that didn't seem like enough for her. This demon killed her mother and father, destroyed her family and her life. Three stab wounds wasn't enough to suffice the damage he had done to her.

Natalie brought the knife back up and then down again, stabbing another part of his chest. Natalie repeated the act again, and again, and again, each time the viciousness of the stabs would increase. Her she was, bleeding and losing consciousness, yet, Natalie could feel her harboring anger beginning to spill over as she continued her stabbing.

By now, Elais had gone silent, but did this matter to Natalie? Not one bit. She would stop when she lost consciousness. The heat that was being created from her blazing anger soon began to make her lightheaded. That combined with the blood loss and no doubt, an oncoming concussion from his punches, Natalie was worsening her condition by continuing on like this.

Bringing down the knife one last time, Natalie pulled it out of his chest and her arms hung numbly by her side. Nausea soon overtook Natalie and her body went into shock from blood loss, at least it was able to numb her body. Her fingers grip around the knife loosened and it fell out of her hand. Natalie blinked a couple of times, seeing that Clara was finally getting herself back to her feet and it gave Natalie the reassurance that everything was fine now.

With that, Natalie closed her eyes and her body fell to the left as she lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>"Have you tried calling her back yet?" Sam asked Dean, who settled himself down on his bed.<p>

"Yeah, Sam, I did and she didn't answer. Look she left a voicemail saying that everything was fine. She's fine." Dean answered, hoping that it would settle Sam's nerves.

"I just don't get why she isn't answering her phone now." Sam commented as he looked down at the phone in his hand.

"They're probably just finishing up with taking care of that demon. You don't need to worry about anything Sam." Dean rubbed his eyes, trying to relieve some of the heaviness in them.

Sam looked over at his brother and sighed. Dean was exhausted and they had only finished up their job a couple of hours ago. They had just returned to their motel room not even an hour ago from having a late dinner and they were both beat. Well, Sam might not seem like it, but just wanted to make sure that Natalie was fine. Even though his brother had assured him that she was all right, according to the last voicemail he got from her.

"I just feel like I should try and call her one more time."

Dean sighed heavily and looked over at Sam. "Dude. If something was wrong, we would have gotten a call from them by now. We haven't. She's fine."

Sam hesitantly placed his phone down on the night table and then shook his head. "I don't know Dean. I just have this...nagging feeling."

"You always seem to have a nagging feeling." Dean retorted, though his tone carried no annoyance or anger.

"Shut up."

Dean ran a hand through his hair and let out a yawn. "Okay, Sam. Just go to sleep, all right? I'm sure that in the morning Nad will call us. Okay?" Dean pulled the covers up to his chest and began to settle down into his bed.

Sam watched his brother silently as he quickly dozed off and Sam knew that he had to get it together. Dean was right. If something bad did happen, they would have known by now. Plus, that message Natalie left them didn't sound to urgent. Only if it was, Natalie was doing a good job at sounding calm.

Letting out a tired groan, Sam washed his hand down his face and ultimately settled underneath his blankets and switched off the lamp. _Everything is fine. We'll hear from her in the morning._

….

Dean was lying on his stomach facing the nightstand, his arm hanging off the side of the bed. Both he and Sam were out. The room was dark, barely lit from the motel sign outside and the faint, labored breaths coming from them filled the silence.

That silence was soon interrupted by Dean's ringtone going off at a loud volume. Dean cringed and buried his face against the pillow, hoping that by doing this it would make the noise stop. It didn't. As the phone made the second round with the ringtone, Dean groaned and leaned up and turned on the lamp. He picked up the phone and answered the call, without looking at who it was.

"Hello?"

_"Dean?" _

Dean, who's eyes were still slightly closed, raised a brow at the voice. "Yeah? Who's this?"

_"Dean, it's me, Clara." _

At that name, Dean immediately sat up in bed and took in a sharp breath. "Clara, hey. Sorry, I didn't check the caller I.D." Dean explained as he leaned over and hit Sam's arm that was dangling off the side, effectively waking the kid. "So, is everything alright?"

_"No, Dean. Nothing is alright." _

Dean could feel the rest of his sleep ware off and his face went grim. "What happened?" At this, Sam shot up in his bed, recognizing his brother's tone.

_"We found the demon and went to confront it and...it's Nad. She's in...really, really bad shape. I've never seen like this Dean. I'm sorry for calling you so late, but, I knew you and Sam would want to know." _

During this time, Dean and Sam had already hopped out of bed and were in the process of trying to get dressed. Even though they were alert, there was no mistaking that there was still some sleep buzz they were recovering from.

"You're in Columbia, right? What hospital?"

_"We're at Landmark Hospital." _

"Okay, Sam and I will be there soon so just hang tight."

Dean quickly said into the phone and then hung up. Picking up his jacket from the chair, he looked over at Sam, who's face was riddled with worry. "It's going to be fine Sam."

"That's what you said about this before we got this call. Clearly, nothing is fine Dean." Sam retorted and grabbed his jacket. "Let's just hurry up and get there."

* * *

><p><strong>So! What did you all think?! How did you like the confrontation between Natalie and Elais? I didn't want it to be a big over the top, showdown and this is really how I always imagine the fight between them would go down. <strong>

**Don't forget to leave me a review! Until next time! Xx**


	26. Chapter 26

_A/N: And here is the next chapter for you all! Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, it was a lot of fun to finally write the confrontation. Also there will be a very quick appearance by a new character at the end and I'll give more of an explanation in the authors note at the end of the chapter. Don't have much else to say, so let's get right into the chapter shall we!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>It was oddly peaceful in the room. The steady beeping from the heart monitor and a soft, labored breathing mixed together. Sunlight was now fully streaming through the window blinds, emanating a warm glow. A lounge chair is set close to a hospital bed and a slumbering figure is occupying it. Clara, with her legs tucked up and knees pulled to her chest, was still sleeping, after much trouble trying to get to sleep during the night. After her phone call with Dean, which was at about 3:30 in the morning, Clara thought it would be best to try and get some rest, since it was going to take the boys a while to get here.<p>

From the hallway a small commotion ensued and several muffled voices could be heard from inside the room and it woke Clara up. In-taking a sharp breath, her head slowly leaned up and her eyes blinked open. Immediately, she looked over at Natalie, hoping there would be an improvement in her condition. But, there wasn't. After having time to get some rest and clear her mind, Natalie's appearance disturbed Clara even more.

The entire right side of her face was now bruised, severely, while the left side of the face wasn't as bad, but it was still starting to turn purple. Her right eye was swollen almost completely shut. Even though there was an oxygen mask over her face, Clara knew that there were several lacerations on Natalie's lip: deep splits that were bleeding horribly when she was driving her here. And though it is hidden under the hospital gown, the wound on Natalie's side had been stitched up.

Standing up from the chair and walking closer to the side of the bed, Clara gently took hold of Natalie's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "Nad?"

Clara spoke, hoping that the sound of her voice would help Natalie wake up, but was only met with disappointment when Natalie never did. It was something that Clara expected. Natalie could be out for several more days for all she knew. That's what the doctor said and at first she didn't believe him. But, this right here, was only solidifying what he had told her.

Silently admitting defeat, Clara huffed out a sigh and gently ran her hand through Natalie's hair, brushing it away from her face. Taking another considering look at her injuries, Clara pursed her lips together. She had never seen Natalie in a condition like this before. Of course, she knew about when Natalie was in the car accident with Andrew and then when she was shot on one of her hunts. But, Clara had never actually _seen _Natalie in those conditions and a part of her was grateful for that. Though now, she was being put through it for the first time and she honestly felt miserable. Natalie and Marina were the only family she had left, seeing either of them like this would make her feel unease.

Turning away from the bed, Clara pressed her hands up to her face as she made her way over to the door. Quietly opening it, Clara slipped out of the room and immediately, pressed her back up against the door, closing it behind her. Eliciting a tired groan, Clara allowed her arms to fall to her side, she was tired. Last night, she hadn't been able to get any kind of rest and that sleep she was doing in the chair, didn't really count as a resting period in her book.

"Clara?"

Her head looked up and to the left, down the hall, she could see Sam and Dean making their way towards her. Quickly rubbing her eyes, Clara stepped away from the door and offered the boys as much of a genuine smile as she could.

"Hey, boys." Clara wrapped her arms around Dean once he was close enough and gave him a quick but warm hug, along with a few rubs on his back. "I'm glad you boys could make it." Clara next moved to Sam, taking him in her arms and repeating what she had done with Dean, though her grasp around Sam tightened vaguely, knowing that he might take it harder than Dean.

"It's no problem." Sam offered, giving Clara a few soothing back rubs. "How is she?" Sam asked once Clara released her hold on him.

Rubbing her brow, Clara slowly shook her head. "Not good."

That was exactly what Dean and Sam _didn't _want to hear. They had spent over nine hours driving here from Akron and on the way here, they had hope that there might be some improvement in Natalie's condition by the time they arrived.

"What happened?" Dean finally asked.

"I-I don't know."

Sam raised a brow and gave Clara a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"The location where we initially thought he would be was empty. No one was there. He knew that we were coming after him. So, we were able to track him down at another location, thanks to a text message he sent us. Long story." Clara hurried on the last bit once she saw the looks on Sam and Dean's faces.

"Anyway, Nad and I drove up to that location and sure as hell, he was there. But, he...he knocked me out. I was unconscious the entire time, but...luckily, I woke up, but, I was still to dizzy to even comprehend what was going on around me. Then finally, when I was able to fully regain consciousness...I just saw Nad...lying on the ground. And there was..."

Clara paused and pursed her mouth to the side, thinking back on the scene she had woken up to back at the abandoned building. "I don't think I need to say the rest." She finished.

Dean nodded, understandingly, and quickly ran a hand down his face. "How bad is she?"

"Multiple face lacerations, a wound on her right side and...she's suffering from a concussion and is unconscious. The doctor isn't even sure when she's gonna wake up."

"Wait, so she took on this demon...all by herself?" Sam asked and was answered by a small nod from Clara. Both brothers then descended into a silence, a commotion from down the hall didn't seem to break through it.

Clara quickly turned to look at the door and then turned back to the boys. "If you two want to go on in, you can. I was just gonna get some air...plus, I need to make a few calls."

Dean nodded and gently rubbed Clara's shoulder. "Yeah, go ahead. Take break. Sam and I will stay with her."

Clara pressed her lips into a faint smile and gave the boys a nod. "Okay. I'll be back." She answered offhandedly, as she pulled her phone out and began to walk down the hallway.

Dean and Sam both looked at each other, both of them silently communication only one thought. _You ready for this? _The brothers had both suppressed their doubts that this hunt Natalie was going on was going to end the way she wanted to. During their job back in Akron, they were both concerned that they would get a call and learn that something had happened to Natalie. Unfortunately, that came true.

Dean, upon receiving a hesitant nod from Sam, turned to the door and took hold of the handle. For a brief moment, Dean paused and remembered, that night last year, after Natalie had been shot. Their mad dash for the hospital. That was something Dean knew, neither him or Sam would ever forget.

Opening the door, Dean poked his head in before fully walking into the room, with Sam following closely behind. Both brothers allowed the door to close on its own, as they stood, staring at Natalie's limp body lying in the bed. Memories about that night in Nebraska, at the hospital, came flooding back to them.

If anything, what they were faced with now was almost exactly the same to the events of that night. Except the boys would never tell Natalie this, but, this time she looked a lot worse. And Clara said that Natalie took on this demon all on her own. Now they both were beating themselves over for not convincing her to let them go with her.

Sam broke the silence with a small cough and a quick sniff. Biting down on his lip, he slowly walked over to Natalie's side and looked down at her face, examining the condition that it was in and gave a visible wince. Raising his hand to her forehead, Sam stopped momentarily, thinking that if he touched her at all, he would cause more damage. Natalie already looked so vulnerable and weak. He didn't want to make it worse.

Finally, he allowed his hand to gently rest against her forehead and began to carefully brush her hair back. A part of him thought that at the slightest touch, Natalie would wake up. But, as his gaze remained on her unchanging face, Sam felt his body go numb with heavy realization. He knew that there was nothing he or Dean could do to wake her up, they would have to wait for her to come around on her own. Still, he felt like he needed to try something.

"Hey, Nad." His voice was rough and quiet, almost whispering the phrase.

In a moment of faint hope, his gaze returned to her bruised face, hoping that her knowing they were here next to her, she would wake up. Once again, he was met with his own disappointment.

Sam didn't move his gaze from her, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Dean standing on the other side of Natalie, his face was grim and somber.

"We should have gone with her." Sam offered quietly, having stopped with brushing her hair back.

Dean washed a hand down his face and sniffed. "Yeah. I know."

"I didn't think something like this would happen though." Sam admitted. His hand moved away from her forehead only to take a gentle hold of her hand.

"I didn't either."

Taking the chair that Clara had slept in, Dean pulled it closer to the bed and slowly sat down and brought his hands up to his face.

"You think maybe Cas could help her?" Sam asked.

Dean slowly looked up at Sam, his hands moving to rest against his cheeks. Thinking on it, Dean knew that Castiel would be willing to help Natalie, but with the whole thing going on in Heaven, Sam and Dean hardly saw him. Last time they saw Castiel was when Sam was still unconscious after getting his soul back. And Sam last saw him during their hunt that dealt with the dragons.

"Honestly, I think he might be to caught up with everything going on upstairs to even come down here. I mean, hell, last time I saw him was a few weeks ago. It wouldn't kill him to pop in every now and then."

"Dean." Sam's voice cut through. Its volume was still low, but there was a slight harshness in it.

Dean pressed his hands together and gave a slight shrug. "Guess it wouldn't kill to try." He finished and closed his eyes.

"Castiel. You need to get down here right now. And I mean pronto."

Dean paused and opened one eye, taking a quick look around the room and still no sign of him. Sighing, Dean closed his eyes. "Cas, come on. I know you got a lot of crap to deal with upstairs, but we could really use your help down here. You copy?"

This time Dean opened his eyes fully and looked around, both Sam and Dean remaining silent, thinking that at any second, Castiel would appear out of nowhere as he usually did. But, they were met with nothing.

Sam huffed out a breath and gave a small tilt of the head. "Well, at least we know he has his priorities straight." Sam finished with a harsh sarcasm to his voice.

Dean sighed out his own disappointment at Castiel not showing up. "Sam." Dean warned. "Nad is going to be fine."

"That's what you said before, when I told you that I didn't like letting her do this alone." Sam said, letting out a small scoff towards the end.

"Sam, you can't expect to be there with Nad every single minute. This was something she wanted to do on her own. You should respect that."

"Really?" Sam looked over at Dean, his eyes hardening. "You sure that's the only reason why she didn't want me to go?"

Dean furrowed his brows at Sam's tone. Though searching his eyes, Dean thought back to what Sam had asked him before. About him recognizing the house they dropped Natalie at and Dean straightened in his chair.

"Why? Do you think there was more to it?"

Sam shrugged. "Like I said before, that place looked really familiar...and I didn't really make a big deal out of it, but, I was getting...more flashbacks."

Dean drew out a long sigh. "And you didn't tell me."

"Because I knew you would be all on my case again. I'm fine, Dean. But, these flashbacks they...they don't give me a lot to go on with. But, I do know that I see you, Nad, Bobby and me. And, from what I could make out, we were in some kind of basement. That's all I know."

Dean could feel himself begin to grow easy, though he did a good job of not showing it on his face. This was exactly what Natalie told him about. _Don't tell him anything. No matter how much he asks._

"Sam. This is something that you're going to have to talk with Nad about."

Sam looked over at Dean, his eyes widening. "So there is something that you and her aren't telling me."

"It's not my place to tell you." Dean said looking up at his brother. "If you want to know what it is you are remembering..." Dean paused and looked over at Natalie. "You're gonna have to ask her when she wakes up."

Sam closed his eyes in a moment of his frustration. Why couldn't Dean just tell him? Clearly, from what he was remembering, Dean was there during, whatever was going on. He was being cryptic about it, trying to dodge his way out from telling him anything, and by the looks of it, Sam knew he wasn't going to be able to crack his brother. Whatever he was remembering, it was something that had to do with Natalie.

"You're not going tell me, no matter how much I bug you about it." Sam said with finality in his voice.

"I'm not gonna tell you anything and I'm not gonna discuss the matter anymore."

"Fine." Sam let out a breath and gave Natalie's hand a final squeeze before turning away and walking towards the door.

"Where're you going?" Dean asked.

Sam pulled out his phone and began dialing out a number. "I'm going to call Bobby, tell him what's going on. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know yet." Sam looked back at Dean, giving him a faint nod before walking out of the room.

Dean leaned back against his chair and groaned in exhaustion. He and Sam had been woken up early in the morning and he just drove nine hours from Akron. It wasn't exaggerating to say that he was completely exhausted.

Even though all he wanted to do was close his eyes, the soft breathing that was coming from Natalie was forbidding him to do so. Not so much that it would keep him up, it was the fact that he wanted to be awake _if _she were to wake up, And that was a big _maybe._ Still, that particular thought kept him from falling into a slumber at this exact moment.

Instead, he leaned forward in his chair towards the hospital bed and leaned his elbows on top of his knees. Looking at Natalie, Dean couldn't help but feel like he was back at the hospital in Nebraska. Natalie having just gotten out of surgery after the close call they had with those group of cannibals. This all was just to eerily close to that and it unsettled Dean to his very core.

Seeing her like this, right now, was proving to be a little much for him, though he would never actually say that to Sam or Clara. But, Dean, above anyone else, has seen Natalie in to many critical conditions. First, it was the car accident she got in with Andrew, and even he would admit, that wasn't the worst of them. Then, her getting shot was a step up from that. They came close to losing Natalie during that event and Dean ended up having to experience that. Lucifer killing Natalie was something that Dean could never scrub from his memory. He would never even try to bring that up with her or with anyone and he learned to live with that memory. But, Dean felt what it was like to actually _lose _her. Watching his brother jump into the pit, losing Bobby and Castiel, then to swallow the harsh reality that Natalie was gone, leaving him alone, it was a painful thought for him to grasp during that moment. He had lost everything. And even though Castiel was resurrected and brought back Bobby and Natalie, that didn't take away what he had felt, in the belief that he was on his own.

After a year of being away from Natalie, with both of them trying to move on from what had happened from the after effect of the Apocalypse, Dean was able to push those memories to the back of his mind. Not effectively ridding them, but, able to tame them, so he didn't have to think about it. But, the situation at Dr. Robert's place, just brought it all back to him. Dean came close to losing Natalie, again. Dean, above everyone else, has the choice to allow his paranoia to feed through and force him to keep Natalie from doing anything that might get her in trouble. He could have been over protective, cautious and forceful in making sure that she stayed out of the line. But, Dean always knew that Natalie could handle herself, she lasted a whole year without him. To say that she needed both him and Sam on this mission to hunt down Elais was a little much. Though now, looking at her, Dean had wished he'd convinced her to let them go with her. With him and Sam there, they would have made sure that _this _wouldn't of happened.

Now, staring at her, it was only stirring the embers of Dean's emotions and was beginning to tear down the mental wall he had built. It was his way of not being overbearing with Natalie, not to be over cautious, because he knew how she felt about that. There was something about looking at her being so weak and vulnerable now that seemed to have crossed the line for him.

"It's got to stop Nad." Dean finally spoke out, his voice scratchy. "All of this." He said looking around the hospital room. "It's got to stop. I've been through this too many times. And I know you can't hear me...but, maybe just by a small chance you can. But, I'm gonna say this to you over and over again when you wake up. Sam and I...we should've gone with you."

Dean's jaw clenched and he cough at the ache in his throat. "I know. You're response would be that you can take care of yourself and that this was something you wanted to do on your own. I get that. And the more I think about it, there was no way you were gonna let us go with you. No matter how much we would try to convince you. It's just..."

Dean raised his hand up and began to rub the back of his neck. "It's kind of a pain...to know that...Sam and I can't always be there with you. Because, whether you like it or not, we are responsible for your safety Nad. I mean you have a family outside of what you do. I have to admit, I sometimes forget that it's not just you, me and Sam. We always try to make sure that nothing happens to you. Even if we are all on a hunt together, something can still happen and you can get hurt." Dean let out a scoff and raised his brows momentarily. "Like that's never happened before."

Taking a pause, Dean began to rub his hands together, making sure to keep himself focused and in line. "You know, Sam and I, we've been through so much...lost so much. I guess it's just a habit now. You hook onto to someone who's close to you and you don't loosen that grip. With you, we've been a little resilient about it. Because we both know how you are. But, Nad, I've seen you go through to much and this...this is the last straw. No more. I don't want to see you in a hospital bed, looking like this ever again."

Dean let out a wet laugh and rubbed the side of his cheek. "Guess that's a little unlikely, right? Considering what we do. Maybe it's just the fact that one day, something could go really wrong and Sam and I won't be able to stop it. I will say one thing though." Dean finished with a small laugh. "You took on that demon on your own. I'll give you that. But, you gotta wake up Nad. All of this is done. You don't have to worry about it anymore."

During his whole monologue, Dean vaguely forgot that Natalie was still unconscious and expected her to say something to him. Whether it be, stop feeling guilty or stop thinking that it's your fault. Instead, Dean was only met with silence that was mixed with her breathing. Dean, instead, reached over and took hold of Natalie's hand, giving it a few gentle squeezes.

* * *

><p>The first thing Dean noticed was that his head was lying against something soft. Bringing his hand to his face, he lazily rubbed his eyes and slowly lifted his head, blinking a couple of times. In a quick few seconds, Dean was able to determine that he had fallen asleep and his head had been resting on the side of the bed. Looking across from him, Dean saw Sam sitting down in a chair, his eyes looking at him.<p>

"Did you enjoy your little slumber?" Sam asked, a light tone to his voice.

Dean leaned up halfway, his eyes still half shut as they tried to adjust and he groaned, taking a look around the room. "How long was I out?" Dean asked, rubbing at his eyes again.

"About an hour." Sam replied casually. "Didn't want to wake you up. Thought I would just let you sleep."

Dean sleepily nodded his approval. "Thanks for that." Leaning away from the bed, Dean settled more in his chair, stopping to arch his back to rid of the stiffness. "Has there been any improvements?" He asked, motioning over at Natalie.

Sam finally broke his gaze from Dean and focused his attention back on Natalie. "No. Nothing."

"Where's Clara?" Dean asked, realizing that she wasn't in the room.

"She just left a couple minutes ago. I told her that we would stay with Nad and that she needed to go find a motel and rest for a bit."

Dean nodded at Sam's answer. "I'm guessing Cas didn't show up while I was out."

Sam vainly scoffed and shook his head and that was all Dean needed. He really didn't want to push that matter any further. "You okay, Sam?"

Sam garnered a very faint smile as he looked over at his brother. "I think you know the answer to that Dean."

Dean gave his brother a shrug. "What did Bobby say?"

Taking in a breath, Sam washed a hand down his face. "He was worried, which is no surprise. Told me to call him if there is any kind of improvement with Nad's condition."

The door to the room opened and Clara walked in with her phone in her hand, her eyes scanning over the area until they finally settled upon her jacket, resting on one of the chairs. "Forgot my jacket. I need to go back out to Parks & James."

Dean gave Sam a quick look before standing up from the chair. "Where are you going?"

Clara looked up at him and put her phone back in her pocket. "Parks & James. That's where Nad and I found him at. I need to go back there and take care of the body. I didn't get a chance to since, well, I needed to get Nad to a hospital."

"Why don't you let Sam and me take care of it?" Dean suddenly asked, not really taking any time to think on it.

Clara widened her eyes slightly and then shook her head. "No. You boys don't have to do that."

"No, Clara really." Sam interrupted, standing up. "Let Dean and I take care of it. You stay here with Nad and we'll go and take care of the body."

Clara switched her gazes between Sam and Dean, silently considering their offer. She was still exhausted and going back out to that building wasn't exactly how she wanted to end her day. Sighing in her own relent, Clara gave the boys a small nod. "You two really don't have to."

Dean and Sam took this as their answer and they both offered her a small smile. "You don't have to worry about it, Clara." Dean said. "Just stay here with Nad and we'll finish it up."

"Thank you."

Dean gave Clara a small rub on her shoulder and turned back to Sam. "You ready to go?"

Sam gave his brother a quick nod then turned to the chair he had been sitting in and picked up his jacket. Sam then stopped and looked down at Natalie, then gently brushed back her hair a couple of times.

"Now where is Parks & James?" Dean went on to ask.

Clara shook her head and cleared her throat. "It's on the outside of town. Once you leave the main town keep heading straight and then you'll find a abandoned street on your left. You'll know it when you see it. It's not hard to miss. He'll be on the second floor."

Dean nodded, making sure to keep what she said in the forefront of his mind. Then he turned to Sam, waiting a few seconds longer once he saw the scene. It wasn't until Sam looked up at him that Dean motioned for him to follow. "Let's go."

….

The door was slowly pushed open and a loud creaking noise resonated throughout the building. Sam and Dean slowly entered and were a little surprised that the first thing they see was a spotted trail of blood that was leading towards them. It didn't take them long to surmise that it was Natalie's blood, while Clara dragged her out. That mental image combined with the blood trail caused a shudder to run through the boys.

"Okay, Clara said that the body is up on the second floor." Dean informed as they both walked over to the staircase and began to take the steps one at a time.

"How bad do you think the scene will be?" Sam asked, genuinely curious as to what Dean would think.

"I'm not entirely sure." Dean responded, his eyes wandering around the area at the top of the steps. "We're about to find out."

Sam and Dean came to the top of the stairs and looked right then left, finding what was the second floor main hallway. Then, right in front of them, a huge room that looked like the remains of an office area. Walking in, it didn't take them long to find exactly what Clara was talking about.

A body was lying out in the middle of the room and as they approached it, the scene became a lot more clearer. Aaron was lying in a vast pool of blood, that had already begun to dry and it was in stark contrast to his pale face. The injuries to his chest and upper abdomen was something that seemed to catch their eyes immediately. Multiple stab wounds that were occupying mostly his chest.

Dean cringed at the body and rubbed his chin. "Holy _shit._" Keeping his hand near his chin, Dean slowly knelt down next to Aaron, his eyes scanning over the wounds on his body.

Sam continued eyeing the body, in utter disbelief at what he was seeing. "Nad did this?"

"Well, Clara did say that she was unconscious for the whole time, so, yeah, it was Nad." Dean replied as he picked up Ruby's knife that was lying just a few feet away from the body. The blade was completely caked with dried blood, which Dean took a note on to give this knife a good wash.

"I've never seen Nad do something like this Dean."

"The son of a bitch deserved it. He is the one who killed her parents." Dean answered, going back to examining the body. During his examination, Dean had leaned a little closer to Aaron's chest, seeing that several of the wounds were larger than the size of the blade. "Several of these wounds were punctured more than once. Damn. Nad really gave it to this guy, didn't she?"

Sam pursed his lips and looked over to his left, seeing that a dry-wall was destroyed. It looked as though something had been thrown through it and his guess...it was Natalie. His eyes casually scanned back towards the front and near the wall in front of him, Sam could see little stains of blood at various points on the ground and there was a shattered window.

Seeing that his brother was still scanning over the body, Sam couldn't help the slightly aggravated cough that echoed throughout the room. But, it caught Dean's attention.

"Dean. Let's just get this body out in the back."

Dean blinked a couple of times as he looked up at his brother. Seeing the unmistakable tension in his face, Dean knew that this was something Sam didn't want to look at any more. Nodding his head, Dean looked back down at the body.

"All right. Let's get him out of here then."

Dean moved down to Aaron's feet, while Sam went and stood near his head. Both of them bent down and picked up Aaron by lifting him up by his limbs. Once he was high enough, Sam wrapped his arms underneath Aaron's armpits while Dean held up his end by securing his hold by holding Aaron from behind the knees. When the reached the steps, their pace slowed down as they took them one after the other. Making it down the steps, they picked up their pace and made it out the door.

In a snap decision, since Sam was leading the way, he made a sharp right, taking that way around. Though even if they went left it would have taken them to the same location. But, the sudden movement caught Dean a little off guard, since Sam didn't say which way he was going, and it almost caused Dean to lose his grip, though luckily he was able to keep it. Rounding the corner, they briskly walked down the side of the building and came to the clear land in the back. Once they reached a good spot, Sam and Dean gently lowered the body and set it down on the ground.

Eyeing the area around them, Dean gave a quick nod. "I'll go and get the shovels from the trunk." Dean turned and left without giving Sam much else.

In the time Dean left, Sam found himself simply staring down at the dead body before him. It still astonished him that Natalie could be that violent. Reckon, yes he knew that this was the demon who killed her parents. He could relate to his family's hunt for the yellow-eyed demon and how good it felt to finally have that thing killed. But, Sam never would have thought that Natalie could really do something like this. She was someone who had a lot of anger towards this thing, he knew that, but for some reason Sam just couldn't understand it.

Even towards the beginning, when she had been hunting with them, Natalie was able to catch on fairly well. She was no fighting expert, but, she was able to hold her own and she was good at it. He never had been in a situation where it called for substantial violence and if anyone was performing that kind of act, it would either be him or Dean. Not Natalie. That wasn't in her nature. She fought and killed in the way that showed she was just trying to survive. This, right here, was an act of survival, but, Sam could see the ferociousness in the stabbings. Like Dean stated earlier about some of them being punctured more than once, Sam could now see it to. Natalie just kept going with her attack, not caring for the fact that this demon would have been dead, very early into this event.

Sam knew that there was more to what Natalie was leading him on to believe. He knew that it had to do with the year that he was gone. What else would have triggered something like this to go off? And these flashbacks he was having, he had no doubt that it was connected with this demon that she killed.

Sam was brought out of his thoughts by Dean showing up with two shovels and a gasoline canister. The two chose a spot a few feet away from the body and began the process of digging. No word was spoken between them. A person viewing this would have thought that there had been a fight between them and now they were refusing to say anything to each other. The brothers weren't angry, they just simply had nothing to say. What could they say? In retrospect, the two of them just wanted to get this done so that they could get back to the hospital. The longer they stayed here, the more this tension will grow.

When they felt that they had dug a deep enough hold, Sam and Dean hopped out of the ditch and walked over to the body. Once again, they picked up Aaron from their respective ends and set him down in the ditch. Sam went back over and picked up the canister, uncapping it as he made his way to the ditch. Raising the canister, Sam poured out a substantial amount, it would be enough to make sure that the fire would do its job. Dean took out a pack of matches from his pocket and lit up the entire pack before throwing it on top of the body.

Watching the flames, gave Dean and Sam some kind of reassurance. Not for them in any way. It was the fact that Natalie would no longer have to worry about this. This demon was something that had been plaguing her ever since her father died three years ago. The one thing that nearly destroyed her entire life. It was done.

* * *

><p>Sam looked over at Dean, who was now dead sleep in his chair on the other side of Natalie's bed. Clara was told by both of them to go check in at a motel and to get some rest, which she was hesitant, but, more than happy to do. A few hours they had spent out at that abandoned building, taking care of what was left of the body and now both brothers were given the chance to relax. Despite the fact that it would have to be in a hospital.<p>

Sam let out a small laugh at how quickly Dean fell asleep. He didn't blame him though. Sam even admitted that he was exhausted, but, sleep was something that he couldn't do at this point. His attention turned back to Natalie and now, in this eerie silence, Sam was actually able to really look at her, in a different kind of perspective. If Natalie was capable of something like what he saw with Aaron, what else was she capable of?

On the way back up to the hospital, though he never told Dean, Sam's flashbacks continued again. This time a little bit more detail. It was the same images from before. Dean, Bobby, Natalie and himself, in some darkened basement and that was all he would see. But, now, Sam was able to see that someone else was in the room with them. Who they were, Sam had no idea and his flashbacks didn't provide enough insight to see who it was. Though one thing in particular Sam was able to point out was Natalie asking the same question over and over again. _Where's Elais? _The only words he could remember hearing and it only confirmed his suspicion earlier. That his flashbacks and this demon were related.

Sam leaned forward, his elbows resting on top of his knees, and buried his face in his hands, exhaling out a tired yawn. Moving his hands down just enough to get them away from his eyes, Sam looked back up at Natalie, his eyes slightly narrowing in a questioning look.

_Why won't Dean just tell me?_

Straightening up, Sam huffed out a sigh and took Natalie's hand into his own, his eyes never leaving her face. Though his brows creased faintly. "What are you not telling me Nad? It's got to be bad if Dean isn't telling me."

Sam shook his head, mentally berating himself right now. He shouldn't be worrying about this whole secret that was being kept from him. Instead, Sam pulled his attention to focus on Natalie just simply waking up.

"No. You just need to wake up. That's the most important thing right now." Sam raised his other hand and placed it against her forehead. "Come on Nad. Wake up."

….

The room had gone dark, aside from a light that was hanging on the wall behind the hospital bed. The constant beeping from the monitor kept it from being to quiet. Natalie still remained in her same position, unchanged, her breathing still labored and quiet. Dean's legs were hanging off the edge of the chair and his arms were folded over his chest. While Sam was leaned forward, his head resting on the bed and his hand still holding a firm grip on Natalie's.

Then, the door opened and it filled the entire room up with light that was coming from the hallway. But, that light was soon gone when the door was shut quietly. A man, still standing near the doorway, took in the scene before them. A slumbering Sam and Dean in their respective chairs and an unconscious Natalie lying in her bed.

The man then began to take slow and quiet steps, making his way towards the bed. Walking over to the side that Sam was sleeping on, the man stopped once he was standing in-between Sam and Natalie. If anyone, who was awake, could describe him they would say, he was wearing a mid-length dark navy wool coat with black jeans. His hair, though it would be difficult to tell in the horrible lighting, was a dark brown and it was short, though still long enough to be swept back near the front. And he wasn't old, quite possibly around the same age as Dean and Sam.

He eyed both Sam and Dean curiously, seeing the positions that they were sleeping in, knowing that it must not be comfortable for them. Regardless, he couldn't help but tilt his head in curiosity and it was not hard to tell, which one was perhaps the closest to Natalie. His eyes finally turned on Sam fully, his expression unchanging. In a quick change, his attention then moved over to Natalie and he assessed her facial injuries and he knew that she was unconscious. Pursing his lips together and letting out a quiet breath, the man slowly raised his hand up and rested it against her forehead. He knew that there wasn't much he could do without someone getting suspicious. But, he was determined to make sure that Natalie would wake up from this.

* * *

><p><strong>SO! What did you all think?! I really hope that you all liked this chapter!<strong>

**Now, this chapter involves TWO NEW, I guess you could say, 'hints' about Natalie's story arch. Dean's little speech towards the beginning involves some, foreshadowing, as to something that will happen to Natalie. And this new character that came in at the end, he will play a role in Natalie's story arch as well. I wanted to use this chapter to introduce him, but, I am not exactly sure when I want to bring him in again. So, if you guys have any suggestions as to when you want me to bring him back in go ahead and let me know!**

**I really hope I am keeping you guys on your toes about Natalie's little arch! Until next time! Xx**


	27. Chapter 27

_A/N: It's be a little while hasn't it? Sorry for not getting this up sooner. My teacher thought it would be a great idea to drop two last minute assignments the week before finals, so I had to scramble trying to get those finished. Plus, I've been alternating my free time with studying so I've been busy. Sorry about that! But good news. I AM FINALLY DONE WITH SCHOOL! That means more writing! And this is also very super late but I hope you all had a great thanksgiving (very late I know I'm sorry). But, let's get on with the chapter shall we!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Sam was woken up by someone shaking him on the shoulder. Groaning in protest, Sam moved to bury his face against his arm, hoping to sleep for just a little longer. But, the shaking continued and a voice went along with it.<p>

"Sam. Hey?"

Hearing Dean's voice, Sam rubbed his eyes against his arm and turned his head to the side, opening his eyes slightly and saw his brother looking down at him. "What?" He asked, his voice scratchy.

"I'm gonna get some food. What do you want?"

Sam groaned out again, a little annoyed at the fact that was the only reason why Dean woke him up. "I don't know. Anything. I don't care."

Dean scoffed and shrugged on his jacket. "That's a really great answer. Thanks."

"Dean." Sam began and leaned up, rubbing his eyes. "You know I could care less about what you get me. That's the least of my concerns right now."

"Yeah, I know."

Sam leaned back in his seat and dropped his hand into his lap and looked over at Natalie. Immediately, his brows furrowed as he assessed her facial injuries again. They didn't look the same as they did the night before. Not that they were completely gone, but, Sam could see that they were just beginning to fade, which didn't made sense.

Her right eye had been badly swollen by the time the brothers had gotten there the night before. Both her cheeks and right eye were dark purple. Now, looking at her face, they were almost gone. The swelling in her eye had gone down, tremendously, but Sam knew that she would still have a difficult time trying to open it and her cheeks were only just a pale purple. Natalie should have those bruises for a while and now they were already beginning to heal at this rate?

Leaning forward in his seat towards the bed, Sam tilted his head to the side. "Dean?"

The older brother hummed in response.

"Did you notice Nad's injuries?" Sam asked, looking back at his brother.

Dean's brow creased as he walked over to Natalie and saw what Sam was talking about. Dean leaned a little closer to Natalie, gently resting his hand on her forehead. "That's weird."

Sam huffed out a breath. "Yeah. You think maybe Cas..."

Dean considered it and then slowly shook his head. "Cas would've healed her completely and plus, why wouldn't he have done it while we were awake?"

Sam shrugged at Dean's words, his attention focusing on Natalie.

"Well, regardless of how it happened, let's be glad." Dean commented as he walked away from the bed. "It means she won't be in to much pain when she wakes up."

"Yeah. I guess." Sam turned back to his brother. "You gonna call Clara?"

"I was just gonna pick her up while I was out. Bring her back here." Dean rested a hand on Sam's shoulder, giving him a reassuring pat. "I'll be back."

Sam gave Dean a quick nod and watched silently as his brother left the room. Turning back around slowly, Sam instinctively reached for Natalie's hand and held onto it, his eyes looking back up at her face, still puzzling over her injuries. If anything, Sam felt like Dean had brushed it off to easily. It was either that or Dean was just to keen on getting food for them. But, Sam knew that Dean was questioning it as well, just not as much as him.

Raising his hand up, Sam washed it down his face and took in a breath that then turned into a yawn. Sam could feel his eyes start to close at their heaviness, prompting him to blink himself awake. He was considering allowing himself to fall back asleep, but, knowing that no matter how tired he was, now that he was awake, he wouldn't be able to go back sleep.

Instead, Sam settled for just sitting here, in the silence, waiting for Dean to come back and for Natalie to wake up. And waiting was really starting to make him feel antsy. In the back of his mind, Sam thought that Natalie should be awake by now. That's what happened the night at the hospital after Natalie got shot. But, Sam had to constantly remind himself that there was a difference between a gunshot wound and a concussion.

Sam rolled his eyes and scoffed at his thoughts, silently telling himself to just relax and not allow his nervousness to go overboard. Sam then began to gently stroke the top of Natalie's hand with his thumb, not giving much thought into it. It was something that he had always done with Natalie. When there was nothing he could say, the answer he would give would either be a hug or a rub against her back. Some kind of physical contact. Little gestures that seemed to keep both of them, during moments that were stressful, in some ways sane. Sam and Natalie didn't always have to say that everything would be all right to each other. Just knowing that the other was near, that was the only answer they both really needed.

This particular thought was avid on both parts. Natalie often preferred the quiet moments she had with Sam, rather than the times they would talk almost nonstop. Natalie loved how she was able to communicate a single thought with just a simple look. It was something she had noticed was common between the brothers and soon, she was able to immerse herself into that. With Sam, Natalie felt that she could have almost an entire conversation with him just by looking at him. And in some way, it was the first thing that came to Natalie's mind when reality began to kick in.

Sam continued his stroking of the top of her hand when he felt and saw her hand give a small squeeze. He immediately stopped, blinking several times to ensure that what he had just seen actually happened. Sam gave Natalie's hand a quick squeeze and received a weak yet noticeable squeeze from her and looking up, Sam saw Natalie's eyes were beginning to open.

Natalie could hear the monitor on her right side and her face scrunched up at the confinement she felt at this thing that was covering her mouth and nose. Through her eye lids, she could see a sheet of light that covered them and as she tried to open her eyes, she would quickly close them, her eyes stinging from their sensitivity.

"Nad?"

Natalie's head just barely turned to the side and she again tried to open her eyes, this time succeeding at opening them into a little squint. Through her blurred vision, Natalie could make out the outline of someone sitting next to her and she didn't have to think on it to know that it was Sam. Blinking several times, Natalie was able to finally open her eyes to the fullest that she could, though her right eye remained a little more at a squint.

Finally seeing Sam's figure come through more clear, Natalie didn't hold back the relieved breath and it didn't go unnoticed by Sam

Sam scooted his chair up closer to Natalie's bed and tightened his grip on her hand. "Hey, Nad. Nice to see you awake."

Natalie's eyes were looking all over the place, as she tried to make sense of where she was. Sam was here. A heart monitor on her right side. A very intense pain in her side. Her head, although it wasn't in pain, it felt very heavy. No one else was in the room. And this stupid mask was still over her face.

"Let me go get the doctor." Sam finished as he tried to get up from his seat.

Natalie, in a quick act of panic, tightened her grip on his hand hard enough to stop him and Sam looked back down at her, seeing her shaking her head. Sam answered this by slowly sitting back down in his chair. Natalie swallowed several times so that she could find her voice and talk, but with this mask covering her mouth and nose, she found it rather difficult. Natalie weakly reached up and her fingers pushed against the mask, having missed her chance for taking a hold of it.

Sam quickly reached up and grabbed hold of her hand, shaking his head at her. "No, Nad. Don't take it off. Leave it alone."

Whimpering weakly, Natalie reluctantly allowed Sam to lower her arm onto her stomach. Natalie then moved her hand out of his grasp, which seemed to confuse him at first, but, then she moved her hand up at his head and gently ran her fingers through his hair before slowly tapping at the side of his head.

Sam, at first, furrowed his brows at Natalie's notion but then his face lightened and he let out a small laugh. "You're asking me how my head is?"

Natalie gave a quick single nod.

"You just woke up from a concussion and your first thing to ask is, how's my head?"

Sam's small smirk turned into a full on smile once he saw Natalie's eyes crinkle just faintly at the sides. After that, he really didn't need another answer from her.

"I'm fine. My head is fine." Sam said, gently patting his head enthusiastically, which was met with Natalie huffing out weak breaths, which Sam could only deduct was her attempt to laugh.

Sam's smile slowly faded when he saw Natalie's expression turn blank though he could read more in her eyes and she looked tired...exhausted. Almost destroyed. Pursing his lips together, Sam reached up his other hand and began to brush back her hair.

"Are you in pain?"

Natalie's eyes closed and she gave him a nod to confirm his question and that made him cringe in sympathy. "Where?"

The right side of her body gave a small twitch, which gave Sam enough to know that the wound on her right side was still there and he nodded his understanding.

Natalie inhaled a breath, that was muffled by the mask and she closed her eyes, feeling a twinge of pain in her right side. Swallowing a couple more times, Natalie decided to try and actually talk. "...d-dea..."

Sam leaned in closer upon hearing her weak and scratchy voice.

"...d...dean...aun'….clar...a..."

Despite the fact that the mask made it harder to hear, Sam was able to translate what Natalie was saying, after having to think on Natalie's words, which was good. That meant she wouldn't have to repeat herself again.

"Dean, left not to long ago. But, he'll be back, along with Clara. They'll be here soon."

Sam paused and blinked a couple of times. "I should probably call them. Tell them that you're awake."

Natalie gave him a small nod and moved her hand down to his cheek and gently caressed it with her thumb. Sam leaned more into her touch, his eyes closing briefly, savoring the touch even more.

"...c...all..."

Sam looked back at Natalie upon hearing her trying to talk.

"...call..." Natalie said again, this time Natalie drew out the word longer making it easier for Sam to understand.

"Are you sure?"

Natalie nodded again, giving Sam a sigh that helped justify it.

Sam stood up from the chair and leaned down towards Natalie and pressed his lips against her forehead. With his lips lingering, Sam brushed back her hair one more time and then slowly pulled away.

"I'm gonna get the doctor as well." Sam said quickly.

Natalie looked up at Sam and rolled her eyes which only made him smirk. He knew that her dislike for hospitals and doctors seemed to have risen since she got shot. He didn't blame her. Hospitals weren't really his ideal place as well. Natalie placed her hand against his shoulder and gave him a few pats, telling him to go and make the call.

"I'll be back." Sam stepped away from the bed and let go of his grip on Natalie's hand before turning around and left the room.

* * *

><p>"Yeah, Bobby, she's fine. A little...delirious, but, she's fine." Sam said into the phone.<p>

_"Well, it's a good thing that she's awake. Though what you said about her injuries, that's got me a little suspicious." _

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sam huffed out a breath and rubbed at his eyes. "Maybe, I'm just being a little to suspicious about it. At least the injuries on her face won't cause her much pain, it's her side injury that's bothering her now."

_"Hopefully it's not to painful for her." _

"Well, the doctor just got done checking over her so she should be fine." Sam looked down the hallway and saw Dean and Clara walking towards him. "Hey, Bobby, I gotta go. I'll call you soon."

_"Okay. Talk to you soon." _

Sam pulled the phone away from his ear and turned towards them. "How is she?" Dean asked once he and Clara made it over to him.

"She's awake. So if you want to go and see her." Sam said, gesturing at Clara.

Clara gave the boys a look. "Are you sure you two don't want to..."

"No, Clara go ahead. You go see her." Dean assured her.

Clara gave them both a smile before walking into the room.

Dean rubbed his chin and turned to his brother. "So when did she wake up?"

"Not long after you left."

"And how is she?"

Sam let out a breath. "She was delirious, which wasn't a surprise. But, she was in pain because of the wound on her side. The doctor got done checking over her a couple of minutes ago and increased the dosage that they had been giving her."

Dean nodded. "Did she say anything to you?"

Sam shrugged and shook his head. "She couldn't say much. Though, the first thing she wanted to know was how my head was."

Dean faintly smirked. "Well, knowing Nad, she's always going to be worried about you. What did you say?"

"I told her that my head was fine."

Dean's brows raised at his brother's words. "You didn't mention about you having more flashbacks?"

Sam gave Dean a look and scoffed. "Seriously. Dean, I'm not gonna have that discussion with her right when she wakes up."

"But, you are going to tell her, aren't you?"

Pausing for a moment, Sam looking past Dean down the hallway, mulling over Dean's question. "I want to ask her. I want to know why I am remembering all of this and because you won't tell me anything. What other choice do I have?"

Dean shrugged and hummed to himself. "You can not ask her about it at all. Because, it's something that Nad does not want you to remember."

"Yeah, I can tell. That's why you and her have been keeping it from me." Sam bit back.

"Okay, listen. If I could tell you, I really would. But, Nad asked me not to because she wanted to be the one to tell you, when the time came. And I'm just saying maybe you should wait until after she gets out of the hospital."

"Dean. It can't be that bad."

"If Nad is keeping something from us, usually, it's pretty bad." Dean quickly retorted, causing Sam to furrow his brows. "What else have you been remembering?" Dean went on to ask.

Sam shook his head. "Not much, just the same thing over again. Except I keep remembering Nad asking, where's Elais?"

Dean groaned and pressed his hand against his face. "Did you remember anything else?"

Sam furrowed his brows and shook his head. "No." For a quick moment, Sam saw a small look of relief wash over Dean's face though it was wiped away quickly.

"That's good."

Sam could feel his annoyance and curiosity begin to grow. He wanted to know what this big deal was.

"Dean. Tell me."

Just as Dean was about to give him some kind of argument, Sam cut him off. "No. Don't give me anymore excuses. You were there and you witnessed whatever happened. Just tell me. There is no use in keeping it from me. I'm starting to remember anyways."

Dean kept his gaze on Sam, his eyes desperately searching for any kind of relent that Dean could work off from, but he found nothing. Really was it his place to say anything? Sam was right when he said that Dean witnessed it. He saw Natalie torture a demon. But, does that really give him the right to dish out on what Sam was remembering? In some way, Dean felt he would do Natalie a favor by telling Sam, that way she wouldn't have to recall the event. She will still need to explain some things to Sam, but the main thing would already be out of the way. But, tell Sam what he was remembering and blow off what Natalie had asked him, how could he do that to her?

Dean came to the realization that either way, Natalie was going to be hurt. Either hurt that Dean told Sam or hurt at having to tell Sam what happened. There was no way out for Natalie. Looking back up at his brother, Dean knew that Sam wasn't going to let this go. Either Dean was going to have to tell him or Sam was going to grill into Natalie about it. Dean didn't want the latter to happen. _Guess I need to tell him. _

Finally huffing out his relent, Dean rubbed at his chin and cleared his throat. "If I tell you...just know that I'm going against what Nad told me. She made me promise not to tell you."

Sam seemed a little taken back by Dean's words, though he didn't know why. He knew that Natalie had asked Dean to not say anything, but, hearing the hesitation in Dean's voice, Sam was starting to question his motive. Did he really want this? Should he let Dean break his promise to Natalie? Either way, it was going to come out in the open regardless of how the information was passed. Sam wanted...needed to know.

"I understand. I'll make sure you get a clean sweep from Nad. I'll explain it all to her."

Dean sniffed and looked away for a moment. "No. You don't have to. I will say that you're probably not gonna like what you hear." Dean hung his head back momentarily, taking in a few breaths before looking back at his brother.

"Nad got a call from Clara and she told Nad that they were able to track down a demon that had information on where Elais was. So, you and I, we drove Nad out to David and Jake's house. That's why you remember that place. Now, they all had a chance to ask the demon, you know, they had their round with him. Except for Nad. What you're remembering is the interrogation."

Sam nodded slowly, though, he still had a confused look on his face. "Okay. An interrogation. Why would you and Nad keep that from me? We've done that plenty of times."

"This wasn't just any old interrogation Sam." Dean's voice cut through low and stern, which caught Sam off guard. "Nad, she uh...the demon wasn't cooperating so she. Nad...tortured the thing."

Sam's confusion slowly melted into bewilderment and his mouth fell slightly agape. "Nad. Torturing?"

"Yeah." Dean huffed out a breath.

Hearing Dean confirm it again only made Sam's disbelief grow. "No. Dean, she wouldn't. Nad isn't like that."

Dean shook his head. "Sam." He began. "You...there is a lot you don't know about Nad. What this past year did to her...I don't even know everything she did. I mean the whole time she was hunting with Clara, either for the demon or for-"

"Wait, Nad hunted? She took on jobs?" Sam asked, surprised.

Dean looked at his brother, his expression softening. "Yeah. She never stopped. Not really."

Sam's gaze fell as his mind tried to process the information in a slow manner. "She promised me she wouldn't. Before I jumped, she said that she would-"

"I know Sam. But, can you really blame her?" Dean asked, giving his brother a moment to think on it. "I mean...we both lost you. We both dealt with it in different ways. That was the only way Nad could cope."

"So, you two, never had any kind of contact during last year. None at all?" Sam went on to ask.

Dean solemnly shook his head.

Sam folded his arms over his chest and leaned his back against the wall behind him. "Torturing? Nad. Tortured. I can't see her doing that."

"Trust me. I couldn't believe it either. But, she did and we watched her. And...that wasn't the only time she did that."

Instead of commenting on Dean's words, Sam only managed to huff out another breath. He didn't even know whether he was angry or disappointed. All he felt was shock. Surprised to say the least. There were possibly a million things running through his head. Natalie tortured. She had tortured more than once. She didn't stop hunting during the year when she promised him that she would. Dean just broke his promise to her. And most likely Natalie is not going to be happy when she finds out that Dean told him. Really though, Sam was ready to take the heat from Natalie, even the annoyance she might have at Dean, he was willing to take that as well. He continuously pushed Dean and kept pushing him, bringing up the subject at not really the best times as well. This was Sam's doing. Therefore, he was going to take the fall for it all.

"You're really quiet." Dean's voice cut through Sam's thoughts.

Sam looked up at Dean and shrugged. "I really don't know what to say."

"Well, before you get angry, just wait until you have a chance to talk with Nad. I just told you all that I knew. She has more to explain. Let her tell her side of the story. It might put things more into perspective for you."

Sam nodded and bit down on his lip as a way to suppress whatever these mixed feelings were. "In all honesty, I never thought Nad would go that far off."

Dean's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Sam, not in a scrutinizing way, but, more curious than anything. "Did you really think that Nad was going to be all right after you jumped? Was that your firm belief? That she wasn't going to suffer from some kind of repercussion?"

Sam scoffed and tilted his head at his brother. "Of course, I didn't. Dean, I'm not stupid. I knew you and Nad wouldn't have the easiest time. But, I thought that you two would manage..."

"Manage? Yeah, okay. So that was your thought process during that time."

"It was the only thing that kept me sane, Dean." Sam retorted, his voice having raised in its volume drew the attention from a few nurses down the hall, which prompted Sam to be more aware. "I was about to say yes to Lucifer. Not knowing exactly what the outcome would be. I was leaving everything behind. You. Bobby. And Nad. I had to have some kind of...reassurance that you guys would be all right without me. Even though I knew it wasn't entirely true. But, it's what kept me going, because at the time, I thought I wasn't coming back. So, I had to be sure, with myself, that you guys would be fine. That you could go on without me."

Dean nodded, his curious expression having softened from listening to his brother. "That's all over now. You and Nad have to make up for lost time. Let her talk. Let her explain what happened. Don't put your input in until she's done."

"I know, Dean." Sam answered quietly.

Dean gave a few pats on Sam's shoulder. "All right. That was a good talk."

Sam smiled and huffed out a laugh at his brother's attempt to lighten the mood. "But really Sam. Don't get on Nad's case to much. Just let her explain. All right?"

Sam gave his brother a blank stare and then slowly nodded his head. "I know, Dean."

"Let's go see Nad. Haven't had the chance to talk with her."

Dean walked over to the door and quietly opened it, poking his head in, he was motioned in by Clara, who was sitting in the chair he had been occupying for the past day. Opening the door, Dean walked in fully with Sam trailing in behind him, the latter making sure to close the door behind him.

Dean cracked a smile once Natalie looked over at him. "Look at you. Finally awake."

Natalie gave Dean a smile that looked really...loopy. Is that the word Dean was thinking of? Either way, he could tell that the increase of her dosage was effecting her.

"Yep." Natalie replied, putting slight emphasis on the 'p'.

Deans brows raised as he looked over at Sam, who standing next to him, with an amused look on his face. "And how are you feeling?" Dean went on to ask.

Natalie looked up in thought and pouted out her lips out before blowing out a breath. "Great." She slurred out and finished it with a sigh. "I fell just..." She raised her hands and gestured at herself and let out a laugh. "I feel great."

Dean continued to stare at Natalie though he wasn't short from amused. "That medicine is really starting to get to you isn't it?"

Natalie blinked slowly and lazily shook her head a few times. "No. Maybe. All I know is that I don't feel anything."

"Well at least you aren't in any pain."

Clara stood up from the chair and walked over to Sam and Dean. "I'm gonna go and call Bobby then Mari. Tell them how she's doing." Clara looked back at Natalie, giving her a quick smile before leaving the room.

Dean and Sam then took their seats at their respective spots. "So, Nad?" Dean began.

Natalie rolled her head to the side to look at him. "Yes?"

Dean had to purse his lips from smiling at Natalie's expense. He had never seen her like this and it was actually kind of amusing. "Lets try this out. What do you remember before passing out?"

Natalie pursed her lips to the side, trying her best to get her mind focused on what happened that night, but, the medicine was making it a little difficult. "Uh..." She began then paused, making a face as she tried to sort out what she remembered. "We were at this abandoned place and he was there..." She paused again, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "And...I killed him."

Dean and Sam raised their brows at Natalie's simplistic explanation. Though both brothers couldn't help the vague smirks that appeared. "That's a pretty plain explanation Nad." Sam finally commented.

Natalie's face was contorted into a thought induced expression as she looked at the wall across the room from her. "Yeah. I guess the medicine is...you know."

"You really are loopy aren't you?" Dean questioned.

Natalie let out a snort that startled them and her face was adorned with genuine amusement, that was being fed by whatever medication they were giving her. "Loopy." She stopped so she could let out another laugh. "I've never heard you say that before Dean."

Dean looked over at Sam, who looked to be on the verge of combusting out into a small laugh fest himself, and gave Natalie a shrug. "Yeah you're definitely out of it. I might as well call you Loopy Nad for now."

The snickering that had been coming from Natalie stopped abruptly and her expression when somewhat solemn. This caused the brothers to finally let out a laugh at her sudden change in mood.

"What is it Nad?" Dean quipped, his tone showing that he wasn't over her little moment.

"Don't. Don't call me...Loopy Nad."

Dean's amusement broaden at Natalie's childlike request. "Why not?"

"I don't like it. Just because I might be a little...off, doesn't mean that you can get away with that. I still have my wits about me."

"If you say so Nad." Dean answered.

"So, when did you two get here?" Natalie went onto question as she casually looked from Dean then to Sam.

"Uh, well, Clara called us once she got you to the hospital, which was about, three in the morning. So we got in the car and drove here."

Natalie blinked a couple of times and nodded. "That must've been a long drive. Wait. Where were you two at?" She finished, her voice slurring towards the end.

"Akron, Ohio." Sam answered.

Natalie hummed and pouted her lips. "That was definitely a long drive then." Natalie rested her head more against the pillow and closed her eyes, only for a brief moment, before she shot them open. "Oh! Did Aunt Clara take care of all of that...stuff...back at the building?"

Sam and Dean both casted a quick look to each other, which, not surprisingly, was missed by Natalie. "No, Dean and I took care of that."

Natalie leaned her head up from the pillow, her eyes looking back and forth between the brothers. "You two took care of the body?"

Both of them nodded.

Even though she was hyped up on whatever medication the doctor gave her, Natalie could feel an almost hollow sensation start to form in the pit of her stomach. Although, she was a little to out of synch to really act on it. "Was it a real mess?"

Natalie's question didn't really hold much curiosity. She was well aware of what kind of scene Sam and Dean saw at that building, though if you looked at her face, it wouldn't of been quite as clear that she was thinking this.

"I'll tell you one thing." Dean began and paused to clear his throat. "You really gave it to him, Nad."

Natalie sighed heavily and began to idly play with the hospital blanket. "Yeah. I guess I did. Though really, the attack is all just..." Natalie made a motion with her hands and allowed them to fall down to her sides. "It's all just one big blur. I don't really remember much, though, that's got to be because of this." She pointed over at the IV drip next to her bed.

"And I'm really sleepy again." She commented, allowing her head to rest back against the pillow and her eyes blinked several times.

"Yeah, get some sleep." Dean reached up and took hold of her hand, giving her a few reassuring squeezes. "Sam and I will be here when you wake up."

Natalie nodded at Dean's agreement and then looked over at Sam, seeing a pensive look on his face, which got her a little curious. Her brows furrowed as she tilted her head and was able to catch his attention.

Sam shook his head and gave her a somewhat convincing smile. "It's fine Nad. Go to sleep. We'll be here."

Natalie kept her focus on him, the crease in her brow didn't go away. She had seen that look many times before. Something was bothering him and she was actually surprised at herself that she was able to catch onto that. Considering her 'loopy' state of mind in the current time. Natalie knew that she wasn't going to be able to put up any kind of argument in this mindset. Instead, she opened up her hand to him, which he quickly took into his own grasp, not hesitating.

The brothers stayed in silence, both of them holding Natalie's hands, waiting for her to finally fall asleep. Upon seeing her eyes close, Dean looked over at his brother and garnered his attention quickly. He then gestured to Natalie, _When are you going to talk to her? _

Sam thought for a moment and shrugged and stroked the top of her hand. _I'll wait till she wakes up._

* * *

><p>Sam tapped his fingers against his knee as his other hand rubbed against his chin, his eyes still watching intently at Natalie sleeping. Only a few hours and Sam was able to convince Dean that he should check into a motel and get himself some rest and possibly take a shower. Sam was more than willing to stay by Natalie's side, since it gave him some kind of sense of calm. He didn't really notice it at first but, watching Natalie sleep was actually very, calming for him.<p>

_Does that sound creepy?_

Sam thought to himself and then shook his head at the thought. Plus, it was a blessing that he was alone with her, that way when she woke up, he and Natalie could have a long overdue discussion. While she had been sleeping, Sam was trying to come up with a way of edging them into the conversation. He didn't want to just come out and say 'I know you tortured so fess up' and Sam was taking into consideration what Dean told him. Natalie went through a lot this past year, he had no idea what it had done to her. He had to be mindful of that and he will be.

Natalie sleeping also served as a chance for Sam to recollect his thoughts and really analyze his conversation with Dean. Was it really that bad that Natalie tortured? Sam wasn't to sure. Hell, Dean has tortured and so has Sam, in some kind of aspect. So really, Sam had no room to lecture Natalie about what she did was wrong. It was more of the fact that _she _tortured. Thinking back on when he first met Natalie, he would've never thought that she would turn into someone who could carry out an act like that. Killing creatures was one thing, that's their survival instinct. Torturing was on a whole new level. Whatever Natalie went through that got her into doing that, it must've been to much for her to handle.

Sam immediately began to feel immensely guilty at the thoughts that began to cross his mind. What did Natalie go through? How far did she actually fall off the railing? Before he had jumped, Sam pounded in his head the very thought that Natalie would be all right. That she would be able to get through the aftermath. After all, Sam just thought of himself as a small spot in her life, just an event that she had to go through and would eventually overcome it and live her life without much. But, according to Dean, that was not the case.

Sam heard a very faint whimper and he looked up in time to see Natalie slowly waking up. He watched silently as her fingers twitched to life and her legs began to move to get some kind of circulation going through them again. Finally, her eyes began to blink open and Sam offered a small smile once she was able to fully look at him.

"Hey."

Natalie looked at Sam and then took a quick sweep of the room. "Hi." She pressed her hands against the mattress and pushed her back up more against the pillows so that she would be sitting up a little. "Where is everyone?"

Sam had gotten up from his chair and took Natalie by her arm, helping her sit up against the pillows. "Dean left. I told him to go get some rest. Clara as well." Sam answered, as Natalie's back finally came in contact with the pillows.

After adjusting herself a few more times and found comfortable stance, Natalie rested her hands in her lap and blew out a breath. _That was almost like a workout. Even though Sam helped me. _"God, I feel so weak right now."

Sam smiled in sympathy. "Are you still Loopy Nad?"

Natalie glared at him, although there was no anger in her stare, and smiled. "Don't you start calling me that."

Sam laughed and then shrugged. "I kinda like the nickname."

Natalie pressed her hands against her face in fake anguish. "Great. Now you and Dean are going to start calling me that. It's just what I need."

"No. I think for the moment, it was just a temporary nickname."

Natalie dropped her hands in a quick succession and nodded her approval. "Good. But, to answer your question, no. I'm not loopy anymore."

Sam gave a small pout. "That's to bad. I really liked loopy you."

Natalie gave him a mimicked laugh. "Shut up. I can't believe I acted like that."

"Well, you were under a pretty strong dosage and plus don't be to embarrassed about it. I thought it was mildly entertaining."

Natalie quirked an eyebrow and gave a silent laugh. "Well, then I'm glad that I was able to provide some kind of lavish entertainment for you."

Sam's face broke out into a bright grin which Natalie answered with her own. "So, how are you feeling now?" Sam went onto ask.

"Uh." Natalie breathed out. "My whole body hurts and my right side...I mean the IV is doing its job, but I can feel kind of like a...numb burning feeling. But, other than that I feel fine. Although, my head still feels like it weighs a ton. The doctor was baffled because my concussion was mainly gone."

Sam leaned forward in his chair and sighed. "Yeah, I'm actually not surprised about that."

"What was that all about?" Natalie asked curiously. "I mean, he said I had a pretty bad one too. How is it just gone? Was it Cas?"

Sam's expression went slightly off at the mention of the angel. "Nope. We tried calling Cas, but...he never came, so."

Natalie furrowed her brows in thought and then, confused, shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. How is a concussion just gone?"

"I don't know. Something happened and Dean and I have yet to understand it."

Natalie pursed her lips to the side, accepting Sam's explanation rather easily, though she couldn't help her own curiosity. "You think it was another angel?"

Sam gave Natalie a confused look. "Why would it be another angel?"

Natalie shrugged lamely. "I don't know. Maybe Cas sent one to help me because he couldn't?"

"Then why didn't they just heal you completely?"

At this, Natalie's eyes wandered up as she began to think on Sam's words, but ultimately, had to settle for a simple shrug. "I don't know. It was just a thought." Natalie played with her fingers for a few seconds before looking up at Sam, seeing that same pensive look on his face.

Natalie pursed her lips and then huffed out a breath. "Okay, what's going on?"

Sam shook himself out of his thoughts and gave her a look. "What do you mean?"

"What's with that look on your face?"

Sam shrugged and Natalie quickly shook her head. "I've seen that look to many times and I saw it before I fell asleep. Clearly something is bothering you. What is it?"

_Guess now is the time. _

Sam wringed his hands together and let out a few breaths. His expression, which had been light from his interaction with Natalie, had slowly diminished and this caused Natalie to grow worried.

"Sam. What is it?"

Not giving her a look, Sam cleared his throat a few times. "Nad. There really isn't an easy way for me to...ease you into this conversation. But, um..." Sam nodded to himself his own reassurance before looking up at her, seeing that her eyes were widened with curiosity and worry. "I've been having more...flashbacks since we got here."

Natalie took in a breath and nodded. "Is your head still..."

"No, my head's fine. The wall is still functioning and no memories of hell." Sam paused when he saw Natalie nodded in relief. "But, it's about something else."

Natalie nodded for him to continue.

"The flashbacks actually started after we dropped you off at David and Jake's. Seeing their house is what triggered it."

A brief look of confusion crossed Natalie's face, but she urged him to continue.

Sam nodded and took in a quick breath. "The house looked really familiar to me and then the flashbacks started coming and it...I saw you, me, Dean and Bobby."

Natalie's curiosity was soon replaced with panic, her mind already knowing what Sam was starting to lead into. Her heart began to pound against her chest and her breathing soon became labored. _Oh god. _Raising her hand up, she washed it down her face and closed her eyes. He was starting to remember the torturing that she did.

"What else did you remember?"

Sam, who had been watching her reaction, made sure that he would continue with taking easy approaches. "That was the focal memory that I got. And then, I began to remember you saying, where's Elais? That was all I was getting, but, I was really curious so...I asked Dean about it."

Natalie's gaze quickly snapped over to Sam, the panic in her eyes even more evident. "What did he say?"

Sam pressed his tongue against the side of his cheek, trying to mentally prepare himself for Natalie's reaction. In all honesty, he didn't know how bad her reaction would be, but considering her condition, Natalie knew better than to pull out a huge fuss.

"Dean, he uh...he told me Nad. He told me that, what I was remembering, was you...torturing a demon."

Natalie's eyes remained on Sam, though now, the panic that was evident, now had turned into defeat and shame. This was something that she had hoped would never happen. She didn't want Sam to remember what he saw her do and she was kidding herself for thinking that.

"He told you..." Natalie repeated and Sam could hear the slight bitterness in her tone.

"He told me that, that wasn't the only time you tortured. And that you had also been hunting for the entire year."

Natalie scoffed out a breath and shook her head. "Well, he's just telling you everything isn't he?"

Natalie crossed her legs together and leaned her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. She felt humiliated and shameful at herself. This was something that she had tried to bury and not have to think about. After that night, Natalie silently swore she would never do it again and she had kept that. But, now here she was, having Sam confess that now he knew what she had done and Dean told him. Her mind was clouded with to many things she couldn't just focus on one emotion. Anger, guilt, hurt, shame and humiliation. It was bad enough to have Dean and Bobby see that, but now, she would have to explain it to Sam.

Natalie kept her hands against her face, her body giving a slight shiver at the eerie silence that had filtered between her and Sam. "You're not saying anything." Natalie finally spoke, not wanting to look at him.

"Nad." Sam's voice cut through, causing her to give a slight jump. "If you think I'm mad or disappointed...I'll be honest, I don't feel anything except for...confusion."

It was then that Natalie slowly pulled her hands away and looked over at him. "I just want to know. Why?" He finally asked.

Natalie didn't sense any kind of anger, which proved that he was telling the truth, but rather she found honest curiosity. He really wanted to know what made her go off the railings.

"You wanna know why?"

Sam gave her a quick nod.

"It's because of you." Natalie paused at seeing the confused look on his face. "Sam. There really isn't an excuse...for me to give you that would justify what I did. But, what got me there...was everything that happened. You. My mom, dad and my brother. Everything just cumulated together and it all fell apart. And I tried Sam. I really tried to move on from what happened. I really did."

Natalie slowly shook her head and limply shrugged her shoulders. "It was to much. And I became really bitter...and angry to the point where I would just have violent tantrums. They were spontaneous most of the time and it got so bad that I..." Natalie paused and faintly cringed at the memory. "Mari was pregnant and I was having one of my moments and she tried to calm me down. And I just...pushed her." Natalie's hands made a quick 'push' motion. "And she fell...she fell down really hard and...that was the moment when I knew...I needed to get some kind of help. So Aunt Clara decided to let me help her find the demon and in-between that...she would find jobs and let me take care of them."

Her sight began to blur at the tears that began to sting at her eyes and she blinked several times to keep them at bay and then allowed her head to hang down. "The torturing...yeah that came a little later. I was interrogating this one demon and we had been having nothing but dead ends for a couple of weeks. We had no other information and we were getting frustrated. And this demon wasn't cooperating with me so I just...tortured him. Without even really thinking about it. And I found that, that was the easiest way to get information. And after that it just...I didn't want to stop because I would actually feel something when I did. I mean I became so numb that I really didn't feel anything and then I started torturing and I began to feel, even though it was anger, it was still something."

Natalie took a moment to actually look at Sam and she couldn't make out what he was thinking. Was it sympathy? Disappointment? Anger? She couldn't even begin to decipher what was going through his head, but, that didn't necessarily make her feel any better. In fact, him remaining quiet, was more frightening then him saying anything.

"Sam." Natalie began, feeling the need to try and make up for her past actions. "I'm sorry. I know that I promised you that day...I promised that I would give up the life and go on with as much 'normalcy' as I could. I tried...I really did. It's losing you..." Natalie stopped and huffed out a breath. "I don't think I need to repeat that over and over again, because you already know. Just...I'm sorry."

Finally allowing herself to pull her gaze away from him, Natalie soon found the hospital blanket to be fairly interesting as she began to fumble with the fabric. Trying desperately to ease this suffocating tension that was in the room. Although, Natalie wasn't sure if that was a combo between her and Sam or if it was just her, overworking herself.

Sam stood up from the chair and Natalie kept her head low, not daring herself to look up, thinking that he was going to leave the room. Instead, Natalie saw just faintly Sam sitting down on the hospital bed next to her, though she kept her attention on fumbling with the blanket.

Sam quietly eyed Natalie for a moment before reaching out and taking hold of her hand. "Nad. Hey, come on, look at me."

Natalie breathed out a sigh and sniffed before, finally, lifting her head, her eyes finally locking down on his. Sam gave her a quick and faint smile. "Listen, like I said before, if you think I'm pissed...I'm not. Disappointed..." Sam gave a quick shrug. "I'm not sure. But, I'm shocked to say the least. But, I'm not one to say what you do was right or wrong. I mean Dean and I have done out fair share of things...I can't really be the one to judge your actions. I mean, Dean did torture souls in hell..."

Natalie scoffed and shook her head. "That's different Sam. Dean was in _hell._ I wasn't. He was just trying to survive the best he could."

"And that's what I'm saying." Sam said. "You clearly had a really...rough time. You did what you did to survive through all of that. And it wasn't just me you trying to get over, it was your mom and brother. I know how hard it was for you to lose them, I saw you go through that and all you did was bury it away. I get that me jumping...it just seemed to push everything over the edge and you had to deal with it. Now, I'm not saying that I think you resulting to torturing and going back on hunts was the way to go, but, that was your way of dealing with it. And I'm sorry."

Natalie huffed out a laugh as she quickly wiped at her eyes. "Why are you apologizing to me?"

Sam's expression softened as he gave her hand a few gentle squeezes. "I'm sorry for what you went through and that I wasn't there."

"Sam. You don't have to apologize for that."

"No." Sam quickly interrupted. "I know it's just that, before I jumped, I had convinced myself enough to think that you would be fine. That you would be able to get through it. I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but, it was the only way to keep myself...sane, I guess you could say. But, I guess I was wrong."

Natalie pursed her lips and then quickly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sam and rested her chin on his shoulder. Her act was met with Sam securing his arms around her waist, making sure to be careful on her right side, and gently tugged her closer to him.

"I'm sorry." Natalie said again, not knowing what else to say to him. She felt that if she kept on repeating it, that it would somehow erase what she had done.

Sam's hold on Natalie tightened once he heard the words come out of her mouth. "Don't. Nad stop apologizing."

"I just feel so guilty for what I did. The promise I made you...I broke that. I feel like a disappointment to you."

"Hey, come on, Nad it's okay." Sam assured, accompanying his words with gentle rubs against her back. "We can't change what happened. We just need to accept them and move on. Just put it behind you. You don't need to worry about it anymore. And you're not a disappointment. None of this changes how I see you Nad."

The words seemed to have struck something in Natalie and a few tears finally were able to break free and stream down her face. Pulling him closer to her, she nestled her face against his neck. "I really needed to hear that."

Both of them held their positions, Sam continuing his soothing rubs and Natalie keeping herself snuggled close to Sam, her hold tight, almost as if she was afraid that if she let go, this whole moment would have been proven false. That it would be revealed that Sam was actually pissed at her, though she new that was false. And Natalie was actually quite relieved. One, Sam had taken the news better than she had imagine and two, she didn't have to worry about telling him anymore. Even though it was Dean who told him, all of her fear about what the outcome would be from Sam knowing, it was all gone now. She was free from his heavy burden that had been on her shoulders for months now.

But, remaining in that position proved to be a big irritation to Natalie's wound and it was noticed by Sam when he heard her whimpering a couple of times.

"Your side starting to bother you?" Sam spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence that they both had been sitting in.

"Yeah." Natalie managed to whisper.

"Okay. I'm gonna lower you down on the pillows."

"Okay." Natalie was a little disappointed to say the least. She would've much rather stayed their position, with him in her arms, feeling calm and safe. Natalie had been without that kind of contact for over a year and she didn't realize how much she had been craving for it.

Sam, keeping his hold on her, gently moved her back up to the pillows and then slowly lowered her back against them. Sam removed his hands from her back and pulled himself away, even though he was hesitant on doing so. Looking at her, Sam could see her eyes were red, just barely swollen and her cheeks were stained. He reached his hand up to her cheek and used his thumb to wipe at the tear stains.

"It's okay, Nad."

Natalie took in a deep breath and nodded, giving him a genuine smile for a start.

Sam pulled his hand away, only to have Natalie take a hold of it and by the grasp she had, Sam knew that Natalie wasn't going to let go. Instead, he settled for sitting on the bed next to her, not wanting to pull his hand away.

"You know something...you never told me." Sam said, deciding to try and lighten the mood. Natalie returned it with a questioning look. "You said Mari was pregnant...you never told me she had a kid."

Natalie's face finally broke out into a smile that was followed by a laugh. "Yeah, um, she had a daughter. Emily. And if it makes you feel any better, I babysat her quite a few times, so I had some kind of normalcy during the year."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Sam replied.

"Though I would love for you to meet Emily. I'm sure she'll love you."

Sam gave Natalie a hesitant look and slowly shook his head. "I'm not the best with kids, Nad."

Natalie gave Sam a smile. "Well, to bad, because I think you be just fine with her. Plus, I really want to see you with a baby. I'm sure that will be an amusing sight."

"Okay, fine." Sam was willing to give her this if not anything else.

Though, that still didn't mean he wasn't hesitant about it. Really, he wasn't the best with kids since he didn't have any to much experience with them. Other than the few times he saved kids during hunts they went on. He didn't think that would be consider getting to know children very well. Regardless if Sam was wary about being around kids or babies for that matter, Natalie was determined to get him and meet Emily, and no matter how hard he might fight it, he's not going to get out of it.

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><p><strong>So what did you guys think? How did you like the SamNad scenes? And I do plan on writing in a scene where Sam meets Emily and it's going to be absolutely adorable hope you all are excited for that! So until next time! Xx**


	28. Chapter 28

_A/N: So this chapter is really kind of a filler but there is a kind of important scene towards the end that I hope you all will like. But, the next chapter is The French Mistake so I hope you all are excited for that! Now let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>Pulling down the bottom hem of her shirt, Natalie's face cringed out into an expression of pain as she pulled her shirt down a little to much that it rubbed against her stitches. In a slow and careful movement, Natalie reached for her jacket that was resting on the bed and slowly pulled it off of the bed.<p>

The door to the room opened and Clara walked in her brows furrowing at Natalie up on her feet. "Did you get dressed by yourself?"

Natalie stopped and slowly turned to look at Clara. "Yeah."

Clara huffed and walked over to her and took the jacket from Natalie. "I told you to wait until I came back. You shouldn't be moving to much with that wound."

Natalie closed her eyes and groaned in her protest. "I can get dressed myself. I've done it plenty times while I was injured."

Clara pursed her lips, deciding not to argue with her. "Come on." She held open the jacket, motioning for Natalie to turn around and slide her arms through.

Natalie turned her back towards Clara and put her left arm halfway through before Clara met her by pulling the sleeve the rest of the way up and the same went with her right arm.

"How are you feeling regardless?" Clara went onto ask as she straightened out the back of Natalie's jacket.

"I'm just glad to be leaving this hospital."

"Well, I'm taking you over to the motel. I got your things in my room and you can rest there until we're ready to head out."

Natalie's brows furrowed and she turned to Clara. "Head out where?"

"I was gonna take you back home. Just for a little bit. Until you're ready to get back on the road. Plus, Mari wants to see you."

Natalie nodded. "Did you tell Sam and Dean that?"

"Of course I did. They're welcome to come with us if you want."

Natalie nodded again, but then pressed her hand up to her forehead. "I haven't talked to Bobby since I woke up. It's been a few days."

Clara gave Natalie a small smile. "Bobby understands. If you want, when you get to the motel you can call him. I've talked to him, given him updates. He's well informed on your condition."

Clara turned and brought the wheelchair over to Natalie and stationed it in front of her. Natalie gave the object a disdain look, this was the third time she would have to be in one of those damn things.

Natalie, instead of putting up a fuss, walked over and slowly lowered herself down. "Where's Sam and Dean?"

Once Natalie was situated in the chair, Clara picked up the bag from the bed and gently set it in Natalie's lap. "They're running a few errands. They'll meet you at the motel though, so you don't have to worry about that."

Clara pushed the wheelchair out of the room and went on down the hallway. "So, everything fine with you and the boys?"

Natalie looked up at Clara and then back forward before giving a shrug. "Yeah. Why?"

"Well, they were worried about you."

"They're always worried about me." Natalie quietly commented.

"Yeah and the same goes for you with them."

"Everything's fine."

Clara's brows raised at the blatant tone in Natalie's voice and she pursed her lips together. "Okay, what happened?"

Natalie quickly looked up at Clara, giving her a curious look.

Clara only huffed out a breath and slightly rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, I know something's up with that tone in your voice? What happened?"

Natalie shook her head. "It's nothing, it's just...remember that night when Sam and Dean came over to David and Jake's...and I, tortured that demon." Natalie explained, her tone lowering towards the end.

"Of course I remember." Clara answered, her voice giving away that she remembered it all to well.

"Well, Sam was starting to remember it and Dean told him. That was the one thing I didn't want Sam to remember...but, he found out regardless."

"Did you two talk about?"

Natalie answered with only a nod.

"And what did Sam say?"

Letting out a breath, Natalie began to play with one of the straps on the bag. "He wasn't angry, but, he just wanted to know why...and I explained it to him."

Clara gave her niece a curious look. "Well, then that's good right? I mean the past couple of days you two have just been...fine."

"No, I know, it's just...he's always going to remember that I did that. I just wished that he didn't."

"Sam understands Nad." Clara began, as they both finally made it out into the main lobby and headed for the main doors. "I'm pretty sure Sam and Dean have done their fairs share of things that aren't the nicest acts in the world. But, you haven't tortured since then, have you?"

"No. Of course I haven't." Natalie replied, sounding a little disgusted that Clara would even ask her that.

"Then you don't have to worry about that anymore."

Finally reaching outside, Natalie took in a breath, glad to breathe in air that wasn't filled with the smell of the hospital. Moving her one foot out in front of her, she managed to stop the wheelchair from moving anymore, which made Clara a little confused.

"Okay." Natalie pressed her hands on the chair handles and pushed herself up. "We are out of the hospital, which means, I don't have to sit in that thing for any longer."

"Nad. I think you should just let me wheel you to the car." Clara said, hoping to get Natalie to sit back down.

Instead, Natalie only waved her Aunt off and shook her head. "No. I can handle a little simple walk on my own. Just, go ahead take that back in the hospital and I'll meet you at the car."

Clara watched as Natalie slowly began her walk to the car and she couldn't help but sigh. "You could at least wait until I get back, then I can help you to the car."

Natalie once again waved her hand back at Clara, but, continued on with her walking. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Clara sighed out her relent and turned around, wheeling the chair back into the hospital.

Natalie winced slightly when she felt that her stitches were being pulled just slightly and pressed her hand against her side, making sure to keep a slow and even pace. Walking towards the parking lot, Natalie couldn't help the feeling that someone was watching her. Most likely it might have been a hospital worker keeping an eye on her, but this felt different.

Out of the corner of her eye, Natalie could see someone standing on the sidewalk near the hospital, not that far from her. Finally allowing herself the moment, Natalie turned her gaze over to that direction and spotted a young man in a dark coat, staring at her. Her brows furrowed as their eyes met and if he was trying to seem threatening, he wasn't doing a very good job. Was she cautious? Of course. But, she didn't feel anything other than that. But, that doesn't mean she would want this guy following her wherever she went.

Natalie took a step towards his direction when the sudden loud siren from an ambulance broke her eye contact on him. The vehicle sped past her, towards the hospital exit and drove down the road. Natalie's eyes followed the vehicle until it disappeared down the road and when she looked back, she found the man was gone.

Immediately, her eyes scanned over the area near the hospital and then she turned around back towards the parking lot, seeing a few people getting in their cars, but not the man she had just seen. Her mouth opened in thought and then she closed it, pursing her lips together in the process.

"You're seeing things." Natalie quietly said to herself. "The meds are probably still messing with your head." Natalie nodded in her own approval and acceptance of her own reassurance and cleared her throat. _Just get to the car._

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><p>Natalie pushed open the motel door and breathed out a relieved sigh as she walked into the room. "Finally. At the motel."<p>

"Maybe you should relax. Maybe get some more rest." Clara suggested.

Natalie let out a faint laugh and turned towards her bag that was resting on the bed. "The first thing I'm doing is taking a shower." She turned to Clara and saw the look on her face. "I still smell like hospital and I hate it."

Clara narrowed her eyes at Natalie. Since they had left the hospital Natalie seemed a little quiet, not saying much and she seemed very unsure. "Nad. Are you alright?"

Natalie looked up at Clara with wide eyes and finally nodded her head. "Yeah. Why?"

"You just seem a little..." Clara shrugged her shoulders. "Just seem a little off. Is there something wrong? You feel okay?"

"Yeah. No. I mean, I'm fine, really. Just I guess a little tired that's all."

The skeptical look on Clara's face was the only thing that Natalie had to go on to know that she didn't believe her. Not wanting to really grill into her about it, Clara eventually nodded, giving Natalie some kind of relief that she wouldn't have to explain what she saw at the hospital.

"Well, if you're tired then you should get some rest when you get done with your shower. You hungry?"

Natalie pouted her lips in thought and gave a half shrug. "I guess. Been eating nothing but hospital food for the past couple of days."

"Okay. I'll go get you something." Clara turned back towards the door and opened it, but stopped halfway out and looked back at Natalie. "Just promise you won't try and do anything. Just take your shower and relax."

Natalie gave Clara a cheeky smile and nodded. "All right. Will do."

….

Natalie walked out of the bathroom drying her hair with a towel when her phone on the table began to go off. Walking over, Natalie picked up her phone and answered the call.

"Hey, Bobby."

_"Well, it's nice to actually be able to talk to you now." _

Natalie cringed faintly. "Yeah, sorry about not calling you while I was in the hospital. I was just-"

_"You don't need to explain it to me Nad. Getting updates from your Aunt was better than not getting anything. So, how are you feeling?" _

"Uh. I feel fine. Weak and tired, but, I'm fine."

_"How do you feel now that it's over? You don't have to worry about him anymore." _

Natalie walked over to the bed and sat down, setting the towel down next to her on the bed and ran a hand through her wet hair. "I haven't really actually thought about it. Sam and Dean have done a good job keeping my mind off that for the past couple of days." Natalie paused, as she began to think back on the events and didn't really know what to make of it.

"I really don't know how I feel. Relieved. I guess that's one word. Like you said, I don't need to worry about him anymore. It's just kinda weird to think that...he's gone."

_"I know. You and your Aunt have been hunting down his ass for more than a year. I mean that's all you've been really worried about and to think that it's just over...it's hard to grasp, isn't it?" _

Natalie nodded and faintly smiled at his words. "Yeah. That's exactly it."

_"I'm just glad that you don't have to mess around with it anymore. Where's everyone?" _

Natalie sighed. "Um. Aunt Clara went to get food and Sam and Dean were running errands when I left the hospital. Not sure when they'll be back. But, I'm guessing Aunt Clara told you that she was taking me home for a little bit, until I'm ready to get back on the road."

_"Yeah, she told me. I think it'll do you good to take some time." _

"Yeah." Natalie pursed her lips and cleared her throat. "Enough about me. How have you been Bobby?"

_"What you gonna try and change the subject around?" _

Natalie smiled. "Seriously. How have you been Bobby?"

_"Fine, I guess. Nothing has been happening much over the past week." _

Natalie stood up from the bed and walked back over to the table that was next to the window and when she looked Natalie felt her body freeze. The same man she had seen back at the hospital was standing across the motel parking lot...looking at her.

_"Nad? You there?" _

Natalie shook her head. "Yeah. Bobby, sorry. Hey, I gotta call you back okay?" Natalie ended the call quickly, before she could hear Bobby's response.

Sliding her phone into her pocket and grabbing her jacket from the chair, Natalie slid it on. Before stepping out of the motel room, Natalie pulled out her gun from her bag and slid it in the back of her pants and pulled her jacket back down. Stepping out of the room, she looked back across the street and saw that he was still standing there. _Maybe he won't disappear this time. _

Natalie pulled her jacket closer to her body and walked across the parking lot and the closer she got to him she realized that he wasn't going to leave. Or maybe by the time she gets close to him, something will catch her attention and then he'll leave then. If that happens Natalie will literally think she is going insane.

Finally reaching him, Natalie slowed her pace until she was standing just a few feet away from him and her eyes narrowed as she scanned him up and down. _He looks pretty real. _

Looking up, Natalie's eyes finally landed on his face, his expression unchanged and due to this, she couldn't come up with any kind of theory so to what he might be thinking. On instinct, Natalie slowly moved her hand towards the back of her pants, her fingers brushing against the handle of her gun.

"That won't be necessary." The man finally spoke.

Natalie blinked several times, not expecting him to speak and ultimately, decided to leave her hand where it was. "Yeah, well, the same stranger I saw staring at me at the hospital is now standing outside my motel room. Sorry if I'm a little on edge about that."

"I would never do anything to hurt you."

Natalie kept her gaze fixed on him, her expression not changing as her thoughts began to go wild. "Who are you?"

"My name is Caden." He said, taking on a tone of some kind of relief.

Natalie slowly nodded. "And with how you disappeared on me like that at the hospital I can guess that you are..."

"An angel."

Natalie's brows raised as she let out a laugh. "An angel, right. Like I haven't encountered those before. Nice suit." Natalie finished pointing at him.

Caden looked down at himself and pulled at his coat. "Ah. My vessel. A very loyal young man and very devoted to his faith."

"I actually feel bad for him." Natalie faintly cringed, hating the whole idea of humans being taken over by something more powerful. Whether it was a demon or an angel, she hated the whole concept. "So, this may just be a shot in the dark here, did you have anything to do with my concussion suddenly going away?"

Caden looked up at Natalie and gave a curt nod. "Yes. That was me."

"And, just curious hope you don't mind me asking, why did you do that?"

Caden's eyes scanned over Natalie's face, giving a look that was being driven by intense thoughts. "Is it wrong that I possibly just wanted to help you?"

Natalie let out a laugh and nodded. "From what I've seen, a lot of angels don't just do things out of the goodness of their hearts."

Natalie could see an expression of understanding wash over Caden's features as he slowly nodded his head. "I know that my brothers can often times be...a little unwelcoming."

"A little?" Natalie scoffed out. "That is definitely an understatement."

Caden tilted his head at her. "You really don't trust angels do you?"

"From my experience, you would understand why I don't."

"And yet you still trust one of us." Caden responded and Natalie could only answer him with silence. "Castiel has become someone you trust. Perhaps even a good friend."

Natalie folded her arms over her chest. "Cas is different."

"And how exactly is he any different?"

"It was a gradual learning process for him. He was on your side at first and then he decided to help us. It wasn't just an overnight thing for him. But, this. A random angel coming into a room and helping some random person...never really had that experience before."

"Who said that you were just a random person to me?" Caden questioned.

Natalie narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips together. "Okay, then. Sam and Dean prayed for Cas to help me and he never came. So, did he send you to help me then?"

"No." Caden replied. "Castiel is dealing with a lot in heaven right now. It's complete chaos. The split between the angels is growing in numbers and the tension between these two parties is overwhelming. It actually doesn't surprise me that he didn't answer those prayers. But, I knew about your condition and I wanted to help in the most minimal and effective way that I could."

"By getting rid of my concussion." Caden nodded at Natalie's words. "Why just the concussion? Why didn't you just heal me completely?"

"I couldn't risk you all getting to suspicious."

Natalie huffed out a laugh at his response. "And a disappearing concussion isn't suspicious in your opinion?"

"It's better than having you all baffled at how all of your injuries suddenly just...disappeared. Concussions are not that to complex to allow something like this to slide. From what I was able to observe from that night when I came to your room, the Winchesters only wanted one thing. Therefore, my main goal was to get you to wake up. I knew if you did, then you would be able to pull through."

"So, what are you like...my guardian angel or something?" Natalie quickly questioned.

Caden smirked, though it was so faint, Natalie didn't even catch it. "If that's what you want to think of me as, so be it."

"And what side are you on?" Natalie asked. "In this whole civil war thing happening in Heaven. Who are you betting on?"

Caden allowed his gaze to fall and for the first time, Natalie felt like she had been able to strike something in him. Castiel was the only angel she knew who could exert close to human emotions. But, Caden was someone new. Most likely he wasn't that knowledgeable on what emotions were.

"As of right now, I suppose I'm not on either side. This whole mess has just escalated since Michael got trapped in the cage. I suppose you can say that I just want it all to be over."

"I get that feeling." Natalie commented, more with sympathy than anything else. "So, I never really got the answer that I was looking for." Natalie said as she stepped closer to him. "Why did you help me?"

"Because you have a great importance, Natalie. And I feel it is my task to make sure that you are safe."

Natalie nodded as she thought back to what Death had told her. "Your not the first person to tell me that. You're an angel, which means you might know something that I don't. Does something happen to me? At any given time in the future."

Caden gave her a curious look. "If I did know...I wouldn't be able to tell you. But, I don't."

If he was lying, then he was doing a damn good job at that, but, if he is telling the truth, then that doesn't give Natalie any kind of comfort. Death's warning was still on high alert with her and it seems that no one will be able to help her understand what he meant. Natalie nodded her acceptance and stepped away from him.

Caden gazed at her for only a moment longer before he began to scan the area. "I must go."

Natalie quickly looked back up at him.

"And also, I know that you are going to tell the Winchesters about me and what I did. But, you can tell them that I am no threat to you or to them. I will help you in any way that I can Natalie. Remember that. This will not be the last time we meet."

Natalie watched him silently, only giving him one last nod, before he disappeared. Now that she was alone, Natalie huffed out a breath and washed a hand down her face. "Another angel. What is going on here?"

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><p><strong>So how did you all like it? I know nothing really happened in this chapter, it was just a small one so that I could finish up Natalie's hospital stay and this whole Elias arch. Though she finally got to meet the person who cured her and he will be playing a role in her story arch as well. I am not sure when I will have him back in again, but if you guys have any ideas I am always open to them. <strong>

**How do you like Caden so far? Do you trust him or nah? Let me know! I will have the next chapter up tomorrow so look out for that! until next time! Xx**


	29. Chapter 29

_A/N: We have finally reached The French Mistake! YES! This is one of my favorite episodes and I am so glad that I get to write it out now! Just to make sure that it is all cleared up, my version is going to be a little different from the actual episode. Wanted to make sure that was stated incase someone was wondering why I didn't do something a certain way. Okay! Now lets get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>Natalie adjusted her hold under Emily's arms and hoisted her up on her small feet that were standing on her lap. Emily leaned forward and pressed her hands against Natalie's face and began to bounce on her feet. Natalie couldn't help but laugh when Emily's hand moved up towards Natalie's eye, which prompted her to close it.<p>

"Okay, Emy. Getting a little to close there." Natalie said as she moved Emily's hand away from her eye.

The sound of car doors opening and closing caught Natalie's attention and her eyes widened at Emily, who didn't seem phased by the noise.

"Sam and Dean are back from Bobby's." Natalie cheerfully commented as she stood up from the couch and balanced Emily on her hip. The front door opened and Natalie turned around, seeing Dean and Sam walk in with their bags.

"How was-"

"Nice to see you but, I really got to use the bathroom." Dean walked past Natalie quickly, while giving her a small pat on the shoulder.

"Um. Okay." Natalie gave him a smile, though she didn't think he saw it. Instead she looked back at Sam. "How was the trip to Bobby's?"

"Fine. Got a few more things for when we get back on the road. And Bobby says hi."

Natalie smiled. "I could've figured he would have said that. Did he have anything else about this whole mother of all thing?"

"No. Nothing has come up. It's been almost relatively quiet, well at least, in the regards to that. But, Bobby said that he's gonna keep an eye out, let us know if something comes up."

Natalie nodded as she adjusted Emily's position on her hip. "It just seems a little two quiet. I mean if they have managed to crack Eve out, you would think there would be things happening left and right."

"Either that or she's just taking her time with whatever she has planned." Sam offered. "How are you feeling?"

"You know that's probably the fifth time you asked me that today." Natalie commented lightly.

Sam shrugged, not really able to stop with asking her that. "Just a force of habit I guess."

"And you should know the answer to that. I'm fine."

Natalie looked down at Emily, who had been rather quiet and calm the entire time and it was then she saw that Emily was staring at Sam, with the most curious look on her face. Natalie gave Emily a look and then looked over at Sam, who had just now noticed the same thing.

"You wanna hold her?" Natalie finally asked.

Sam looked at Natalie and shook his head. "No. I don't think...like I said Nad, I'm not the best when it comes to babies."

"Oh, come on. She's really not that bad, not once you get a hold of her."

Sam bit down on the side of his lip, switching his gaze from Emily and then to Natalie, both of them garnering some kind of anticipating smile. Natalie's was expressing more of a will he or will he not while Emily's was more just about curiousness.

Letting out a sigh, Sam shrugged his shoulders and gave Natalie a hesitant look. "I don't think it's a good idea, but, I guess."

Natalie couldn't help her smile was growing, somewhat satisfied with herself that she actually got him to say yes. "Okay. Here." Natalie moved closer to Sam and began to hand Emily over to him. "Okay. You need to hold her from under her armpits..." Natalie paused as she and Sam slowly performed the task. "Okay, now put her against your chest."

Sam held Emily awkwardly at first, but then rested Emily's chest against his. "Now, bring this arm down..." Natalie grabbed Sam's right arm and moved it down so that he could support Emily from the bottom. "That way she can settle easily in your hold. And just, relax."

Natalie stepped back and admired the work that had been completed and she couldn't help but let out a laugh. Sam looked almost, lost in a sense, very tense and unsure about how exactly he was to handle Emily.

Sam held Emily in a still position, not moving much, he just stood there in place, his right arm supporting her from the bottom and his other hand was resting against her back. _What exactly am I supposed to do? _Sam looked over at Natalie, who seemed to be enjoying this way to much. "What?" He asked quickly.

Natalie shook her head, her lips pursed together. "Nothing. Just relax. You look to tense."

"I feel like I'm gonna drop her." Sam quietly admitted as he tried to adjust his hold on her.

"You're not gonna drop her. Trust me. I was the same way. Once you actually hold a baby, it may feel like you will, but you will never drop them."

"I'm not sure if that actually gives me some reassurance." Sam commented.

Natalie's smile only grew. "Well, she seems to like you."

Sam looked down at Emily, who's eyes were staring up at him and her expression confused Sam. He didn't know whether she liked him holding her or if she was about to burst into tears. _Oh god. _Sam gave Emily a forced half smile, though it didn't seem to phase the 10 month olds' expression. "Please, don't cry." Sam almost begged, which made him feel a little weird.

Emily seemed like she was judging Sam, in his mind at least, he knew that was very unlikely. But, just the way she was staring at him, made him feel a little uneasy. Here he was, Sam Winchester. A man who has killed monsters and fought demons, lived through the apocalypse and spent over a year in hell and yet, he was nervous about holding a baby.

The two of them commenced into a silent stare-down and Natalie didn't know whether to think it was adorable or weird? The moment, however, was broken when Emily smacked her hand against Sam's face.

"Ow."

Natalie let out a snort and quickly covered her mouth. "And now she is totally relaxed with you." Natalie finally commented.

"Yeah, I can tell." Sam closed his eye, waiting for Emily to move her fingers away.

"Oh, look at that." Dean's voice finally cut through as he walked down the stairs. "Sammy, you're getting along with the kids aren't you?" Dean said, before walking into the kitchen.

"I guess you can say that." Sam gently took hold of Emily's hand and moved it away from his eye, which didn't seem to upset her. Instead, Emily breathed out an almost over the top sigh and rested her head against Sam's shoulder. At this, Sam couldn't help but smile as he looked over at Natalie. "She is a cute kid."

"I told you." Natalie commented as she followed Dean's path and went into the kitchen with Sam following.

"So, where's Mari and Clara?" Dean asked.

Natalie took a seat at the island. "They went out to do a few things. Asked if I could watch Emily and I said yes."

"And are you feeling all right?" Dean asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hopefully we'll be able to head back out soon. Who knows, maybe once Mari and Aunt Clara get back we can head out on the road."

Sam walked into the kitchen, his hold on Emily had now relaxed. "You sure that's a good idea."

Natalie shrugged. "Yeah, it'll be fine."

"No, actually I don't think you'll be able to do that." Another voice appeared.

The three of them turned to look out of the kitchen and into the living room where Natalie saw a man that she had never seen before.

"Balthazar?"

Natalie looked at Dean and then back at the man. "Wait, Balthazar? The angel that sold heaven's weapons in exchange for souls?"

"Ah, yes that little incident." Balthazar commented though he stopped and pointed at Natalie. "Never had the chance to meet you before."

"Yeah, well, can't really say if it's a pleasure to meet you though." Natalie commented.

Balthazar gave an amused smile. "Nice to meet you to. Now." Balthazar walked into the kitchen and began to search through the cabinets. "By the way, have you three seen the Godfather?" He questioned as he pulled a bowl out.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Natalie asked.

Balthazar took the bowl and opened the door that led down to the bottom level of the house and Natalie quickly followed after him. "What the hell are you looking for?"

Balthazar didn't answer Natalie's question as he began to rummage through the room and opened up the pantry. "Dead sea brine...blood of lamb...bone of a lesser saint..."

"What are you doing?" Natalie walked over to him and closed the pantry door, though he still managed to get what he needed. "You can't just go raiding through the pantry."

Balthazar turned to Natalie and held up the contents in her face. "I need these. It's very important." He turned away and ran back up the stairs and Natalie followed.

Sam was standing at the top of the stairs, still holding Emily when Balthazar brushed passed him. "What are you doing? And why are you talking about the Godfather?"

Balthazar placed the contents onto the kitchen table where the bowl was sitting and began to pour ingredients out. "Because, we are in it right now. And the role of Michael Corleone-would you believe it-is the archangel Raphael."

Natalie's eyes widened as she stepped towards him. "Wait. An archangel is coming here. Now. Why the hell did you come here then?!"

"Because I needed these ingredients."

"No, how about you just tell us what's going on?" Dean interrupted. "Why is Raphael after you?"

"Ah. Correction. Raphael is after us all. You see, he's consolidated his strength and now he's on the move."

Natalie turned to Sam and motioned for him to hand Emily back over to her, which he did in a quick move. "I'm gonna need to get Emy to Marina."

"Oh, darling, you won't be able to do that. The angels that are after me will literally be here any minute and you won't get far."

Natalie looked at Balthazar and pursed her lips together. "Well, that's just great."

"Where's Cas?" Dean went onto ask.

"Oh. He is very deep underground. So, good old Raffy put out a hit list on every last Samaritan who helped our dear Cas-including the three of you. And also me and he wants to draw Cas out in the open."

"And how in the hell are we supposed to trust you?" Sam asked.

"Do or don't. Either way you three will go where I throw you."

Natalie let out a scoff as she adjusted her hold on Emily. "Okay, incase you haven't notice I have a baby here. There is no way I'm going anywhere."

Balthazar reached into his pocket as he walked over to them. "Yes, about that. Hand her over to me." He said calmly as he took a hold on Emily.

Natalie shook her head and tried to move away from Balthazar, when he took a firm grip on Natalie's arm. "Do you want me to get her out of here or not?"

"How do I know that I can even trust you with her?" Natalie asked.

"My old pal Caden is coming to help me."

At the mention of the angel's name, Natalie's face went dead as she stared at him. "As I know. you've already met him, haven't you?"

"Wait what?" Sam looked down at Natalie, puzzlement written in his face.

Hearing Sam's question Natalie mentally cursed. She had yet to tell Sam and Dean about meeting Caden. Natalie let out a sigh as she looked down at Emily, then finally, handed her over to Balthazar. "Thank you." He commented. Then he pulled out a key from his pocket and placed it into Sam's hand.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You run with it."

Lightening soon flashed outside and Balthazar guided the three hunters into the living. "Now, I'm gonna send you three somewhere that they won't be able to reach."

"How sure are you about that?" Dean asked cautiously.

Balthazar shrugged. "Maybe fifty-fifty."

"I don't like those odds." Natalie commented.

Lightning flashed once again, thunder crashing around the entire house and it sent a chill down Natalie's spine. "Balthazar." A voice echoed through the room and looking over at the kitchen, Natalie saw Caden.

Caden walked over to Balthazar, who in turn, quickly handed Emily over to him. "Virgil is close. You need to get them out of here." Caden said, as he adjusted Emily in his arms.

"Wait, who?" Dean questioned and then pointed at Caden. "Who the hell are you?"

Suddenly, thunder crashed again and lightning danced around the house and out of the corner of her eye, Natalie could see someone walking in from the back door, near the kitchen. "Who is that?!" She called out.

"Virgil." Balthazar saw him and motioned for Caden to leave. "Run!" He raised his hand and the three of them were sent back and crashed through the living room window.

Natalie felt her body immediately land on something soft with a loud voice saying '_Cut!' _and the sound of clapping soon followed. Natalie rolled onto her stomach and looked up, seeing a huge group of people sitting behind monitors, looking at them with approval written on their faces.

Rolling up onto her hands and knees, Natalie slowly stood up on her feet, her eyes scanning over the area that they were in.

"All right everyone that's a wrap!"

The three hunters stood in silence, not saying anything to each other, since they were trying to grasp exactly what was going on and where the hell they were.

"Jared, Jensen, Lily! That was outstanding!" An old man from behind the monitors called out to them.

Natalie looked at Dean, confused. "Is he talking to us?"

One of the crewmember walks out in front of them and holds up a marker. "Supernatural, scene one echo, take one. Tail slate. Maker!"

….

"Where in the hell are we?" Natalie asked.

Dean looked around again. "I don't know."

"So, no angels. Should...should we be killing anybody?" Sam asked.

Natalie looked at the people who were walking about the set and shook her head. "No one really seems to be a threat."

Sam gave a very limp shrug as he turned to Natalie and Dean. "Should we run?"

Dean gave Sam a look. "Where are we going to run?"

Natalie feels a sudden pull on her arm and she let out a surprised yelp that caught both Sam and Dean's attention. And they were able to see Natalie being dragged away by some woman. Natalie was to busy looking around at the place that she froze immediately when she was sat down in a chair.

"Okay, Lily..." _Who the hell is Lily? _"I was able to get your schedule updated." Natalie looked to her left to see a middle aged woman with a black planner in her hand. "You're interview with TV Guide has been rescheduled for tomorrow so you need to make sure to get brushed up for that. Also your mother called, saying that your trip next weekend was canceled. Also your father wanted to know if you could make it to dinner this weekend. He talked about, wanting to introduce you to some more people in the business."

Natalie slowly shook her head. "I don't-"

"I know." The woman held her hand up to silence Natalie. "I know, I told him you like to do things on your own, but he was insistent. So you're going to have to call him and work that out yourself. Also, you were invited for the London Love Ball Fashion Week and I already told them you would be there, which means, you need to start getting fitted for your gown for that trip. So, when do you want me to schedule that?"

Natalie simply stared at the woman, her mouth was agape only slightly and her brows were slowly raising in their confusion. _Interview with TV Guide? A damn fashion week? _

The woman looked at Natalie and then gave her a scolding expression. "Don't make that face. It's not ladylike."

"I'm not ladylike." Natalie retorted.

The woman made an almost appalled face. "Not with that attitude you aren't. Now when do you want me to get you in for your fitting?"

Natalie raised her arms and shrugged. "I don't know. Do whatever you like."

"Not the answer I was looking for, but I'll take it." The woman responded and then walked away.

Natalie settled back in her seat as another lady, who seemed to have come out of nowhere, brought a makeup brush to her face and Natalie immediately backed away. "What are you doing with that?"

The woman gave Natalie an 'obvious' look. "I need to fix up your makeup. So just hold still, all right?"

Natalie was a little surprised by the woman's insistence and decided to just follow along with what she needed her to do.

"So, Lily, how has your day been so far?"

Natalie inwardly groaned at this woman's attempt to try and spark up a conversation with her. "Um. F-fine I guess. Why are you calling me Lily?"

The woman brought a different brush up to Natalie's cheek and gave her a questioning look. "Because that's your name."

"My name? Really?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. Lily Collins. That's your name."

Natalie's brows raised and she let out a laugh. "Really! My name is Lily Collins. But, that's-"

"Yeah, the same last name as your character. I don't know whether you would consider that lucky or what."

_Well, it's a good thing for me. I only have to remember one new name. _

"Are you okay though? Why all of a sudden are you forgetting your name?"

Natalie gave the woman a look and her mouth fell slightly agape. "Um. I was just...I guess I'm just a little tired today."

"Well make sure that you get something to eat and take a nap afterwards."

_When did you become my mother?_

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><p>Natalie walked through the rest of the studio and went through an open stage door that led out to the studio lot. Looking around, she saw Dean and Sam standing near one of the many crew trucks and ran after them.<p>

"Hey." Natalie spoke as Dean turned to her. "So, how has your experiences been so far?"

"Not cool." Dean replied heatedly, though there wasn't really any anger in his tone. "They put freaking makeup on us! Makeup!"

"Yeah, I had to sit through that too." Natalie replied.

"Okay, while you guys were getting your faces done, I think I may have figured out where we are." Sam spoke up. "It's a TV show."

Dean looked around them and nodded in a fake approval. "Yeah, you think?"

Sam made a face and rolled his eyes. "Okay, but listen, wherever 'here' is, this is like the twilight zone. Balthazar zapped us into this alternate reality, where our lives are literally a TV show."

"Why a TV show though? I mean who would want to watch our lives?"

Sam made a face. "Well, according to that interviewer I talked with, not a lot of people do. But, the point is we landed in some dimension where you're Jensen Ackles, and I'm something called a Jared Padalecki."

Natalie raised her brows at the name and huffed out a breath. "Wow you two really got screwed with the names didn't you?"

Dean gave Natalie a look. "And what are you called here?"

"Just replace Natalie with Lily."

Dean thought on it for only a moment and then gave her another look. "Seriously. Lily Collins."

Natalie pursed her lips into a smile and nodded. "Yep. Pretty easy I think."

"Well aren't you just lucky." Dean commented quietly.

Natalie looked over into one of the backlots and saw the Impala stationed there. "Hey look. The Impala is here at least." Sam and Dean looked where Natalie was talking about and then saw a crewmember throwing mud against the windshield.

The three of them look at the scene, their eyes widening. Natalie then looked over towards the side of the lot and saw 3 more damaged Impalas and it seemed that Dean saw them too.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." He commented, pressing his hand against his stomach. "This whole place is just, bad. I want to get out of here."

"I think we all do Dean." Natalie said. "So, what should we do?"

"You think Cas could help us?" Sam offered.

"He's our best shot." The three of them looked around quickly and then walked over to one of the prop walls. Dean cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "Dear Castiel, who art maybe running his ass away from heaven, we pray that you have your ears on. So...breaker, breaker..."

Natalie looked around for the angel and then finally spots him a little bit away from them. She gently his Dean on the shoulder and pointed. "There he is."

Dean turned to where Natalie was motioning towards and saw Castiel standing out in the middle of the lot and sighed in relief before running over to him. "Cas? Cas! Hey, Cas! Oh, thank god. What is all this, huh? What did Balthazar do to us."

Castiel looked up at them and slowly nodded. "To keep you out of their reach, he's cast you into an alternate reality, a universe similar to ours in most respects yet dramatically different in others."

Dean thought on it for a moment, his eyes looking around in his thought processing. "Like bizarro earth, right? Except instead of having Bizarro superman, we get this clown factory."

Castiel's brows furrowed as he looked between the three hunters. "Um...Yeah, well...Anyway, no time to explain. Do you have the key?"

Sam reached into his pocket. "Yeah." He said before putting the key into his hand. "So, uh, what does this thing do, anyway?"

"It opens a room." Castiel replied after taking a quick look at the object.

Dean nodded. "What's in the room?"

"Every weapon Balthazar stole from heaven."

Natalie looked at the key curiously. "Why would he give us the key to the place where he is keeping all of those weapons?"

"To keep it safe until I could reach you. With those weapons, I have a chance to rally my forces."

"Oh. Okay, good." Sam began. "Yeah. So, now, uh, what's the deal with all this TV crap?

"Pardon?" Castiel questioned.

"Yeah. Amen, Padaleski." Dean commented.

"Uh, 'lecki.'" Sam corrected.

Dean casted Sam a quick look. "What?"

"Lecki. Pretty sure."

"Oh, man." Castiel spoke, though it didn't sound like Castiel. "Did they put out new pages?"

"New pages?" Natalie asked.

"I mean, is this some kind of cosmic joke?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, 'cause if it is, it's stupid, and we don't get it." Dean added quickly.

Castiel gave them a confused and slightly worried look. "Are you guys okay?"

"Give me that." Dean grabbed the script from his hands and looked through the pages. "These are words in a script. This isn't Cas."

Sam gave Dean a look and then pointed at him. "Dude, look at him."

Dean read through a few of the pages and looked up with a blank look on his face. "Misha. His name is Misha."

"So, uh. You guys want to run lines, or what?" Misha asked as he unbuttoned his coat.

"Your name is Misha. Misha?" Natalie repeated.

"Oh, wow. Just...Great." Sam grabbed the key from Misha's hand and the three of them walked away.

"Misha? Jensen? What's up with the names around here?"

….

Sam, Dean and Natalie walked along a line of various trailers that seemed to begin to curl back around towards the end. "These are a lot of trailers." Natalie finally commented.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sam said. "Nad, what did Balthazar mean when he said that you knew...Caden was his name?"

Natalie let out a breath, her eyes scanning over the lot. "It's not a big deal."

Sam stopped and gently grabbed Natalie by the arm, stopping her and Dean stopped as well. "No, it's a big deal when you meet some new angel and we don't know about it."

Natalie gave Sam and Dean a look. "Are you serious right now? We are stuck in this god forsaken TV land and you are questioning be about something Balthazar said?"

"Was he telling the truth at least?" Sam pressed, a little more persistent this time.

Natalie pressed her hands to her face and groaned. "Yes. He was telling the truth. I met an angel name Caden. And I will explain it more later, but right now, we need to find out how to get back home and so I can make sure that he actually got Emy out of the way. I don't even know if she's alright. So, can we at least just focus on that for now?"

Sam raised his arms and sighed and Natalie knew that was his way of dropping the subject and Natalie nodded her thanks.

"Well, look at that." Natalie pointed passed the boys and at a trailer that she had spotted when Sam had stopped her. "It says J. Ackles."

Dean turned around and saw the paper that was taped to the outside door. "That's fake me." He said pointing to himself and looking at them. "Then this must be fake mine."

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Exactly. So, let's go in and see."

Walking up to the trailer, Natalie opened and door and allowed Sam and Dean to walk in first before following them. To her right she jumped slightly at seeing a huge aquarium next to her.

"Oh. Alright, who puts a 300-gallon aquarium in their trailer?" Sam asked.

"Apparently, Jensen Ackles."

Sam looked around the trailer and saw a laptop sitting on a table and he went to sit down at it. "All right, here we go. Let's see who this guy is."

"Well, he's not a hunter, but he plays one on TV." Dean walked up to the giant flat screen TV towards the end of the trailer which had an image of all three of them. Looking down at the table, Dean found a few magazines scattered on the table top. "Oh."

Dean picked up one of the magazines that had the three of them on it and he looked intently at the image. "Come on. Look at this." He held the magazine up for Natalie and Sam to see. "Nice "blue steel," Sam."

Dean looked back down at the image and noticed that Natalie's, or Lily's hair, was in their faces, well not that much but it was enough. "Okay, why is your hair up in our faces?" Dean asked, garnering Natalie's attention. "I mean a lot of the times, not all the time, but, when I see a woman on magazines their hair is flowing in some kind of wind."

Natalie furrowed her brows and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Why are you asking me? Do I look like I model for magazine shoots?"

"I'm just saying. If you're gonna have a fan that's going to be blowing hair, make sure the person is alone. Not with two other people in the same picture. Or at least don't have them standing behind her."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Seriously. That's your concern right now. That my, hair, is in your face on a photo."

"It's just something I noticed."

Sam cleared his throat, effectively halting Dean and Natalie's bickering about the magazine. "So I found some information on Jensen Ackles." Natalie and Dean walked over to the laptop. "So, this acting thing, is our job, obviously. And, uh, it says that you're from Texas. And uh...oh, it says that you were on a soap opera."

Natalie gave the screen an amused smirk. "A soap opera."

Sam clicks on a link that brings them to a clip that begins to play. Natalie leaned closer to the screen once she saw Jensen and she had to purse her lips together once she did. The silence was her answer to the fact that neither of the boys knew really what to think.

"Well, I will say one thing." Natalie's voice tapered off into a laugh towards the end which prompted her to clear her throat. "That is a really nice hair-do he's got going on."

Dean reaches down and slams the laptop shut, not until Natalie was able to get out a small laugh.

"Don't like this universe, Sammy. We need to get out of this universe." Dean said, trying to mentally rid of what he just saw.

"Yeah. No argument here. But I don't think our - our prayers are reaching Cas. Or the real Cas." Sam admitted.

"Wait a minute." Natalie spoke up. "Balthazar used a spell to send us here. If we reverse the spell he used then we can get ourselves back home."

"Right." Dean replied a little excitedly. He turns and picks up a notebook and quickly draws out a sigil. "I was watching his every move. We just need to get the ingredients and get back to the window and then, pow, no place like home."

"Okay, well." Sam stood up from the seat. "Let's get back to the set and try and reverse this spell."

Natalie led the way to the trailer door and opened it, only to stumble back when she saw someone standing there. Though once she was able to see who it was, her eyes widened slightly. "Mari?"

She gave Natalie a laugh and brushed it off. "You know Lily I thought that you had stopped calling me Mari. It's Annabelle."

Natalie gave Annabelle a confused look and then slowly nodded. "Uh. Right. Yeah...Annabelle...uh, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was looking for you because you promised that we would have time to hang out for your break, but I couldn't find you so I came to see if Jensen knew where you were." Annabelle looked past Natalie, at Sam and Dean, and gave them a smile. "Wow. The three of you in the same room, that's not something you see. Anyways, can we go to your trailer?"

Natalie nodded. "Uh..." Natalie quickly stepped back into the trailer, pushing Sam and Dean back and then slammed the door and turned to them. "Okay. So, she's most likely not going to leave. So, you two go and get what we need and then I guess come and find me."

"Okay, sure thing, but..." Dean trailed off and Natalie gave him a look. "That was a little rude. Slamming the door closed."

Natalie threw a hit to Dean's stomach before pushing the door open to a smiling Annabelle. "Right. Um. Yeah, let's go to my trailer." Natalie stepped down from the steps and began to walk with Annabelle. Though halfway, she turned to Sam and Dean and gave them a look. _Hurry up._

* * *

><p>Annabelle opened the trailer door and motioned for Natalie to go in, which she did in a quick manner. Though once in Natalie was immediately greeted by a huge board that was decorated with various pictures. She couldn't help but be enamored by all of them. "That looks like a lot of traveling." Natalie commented.<p>

Annabelle let out a laugh. "That's what you do most of the time. Travel. Anyway, so what's up with you and the boys?"

Natalie turned to look at Annabelle, who was now sitting at the table. "What do you mean?"

Annabelle blinked at Natalie's question. "Well, I thought that you couldn't stand being near them. I mean you always tell me that it sometimes is really hard for you to get through a scene with them."

Natalie shook her head, not knowing how to respond to her question. "Um. Yeah, I guess, that's how I felt at first. But, I suppose, working with them and...getting to know them, they really aren't that bad."

Annabelle hummed and pouted her lips. "I never thought that I would see the day where you would be spending any kind of time with them."

Natalie folded her arms over chest and tilted her head. "How do you feel about them?"

"Well, I mean we haven't had that many scenes, but, from what I have gathered they just seemed really full of it."

"Sam and Dean-" Natalie closed her eyes at the mistake. "I mean, Jared and Jensen, are full of themselves."

Annabelle gave an unsure shrug. "Look, I'm not one to judge people and I can hardly call them friends of mine, but just the way they handle things. I don't know and plus what you've told me."

"Okay, well. I change my mind then. They really aren't that bad once you get to know them. Maybe you should try and talk with them."

"I'm not on set that often. You're the one who probably has more right than anyone else. But, hey if you three are talking and actually getting along, then who am I to complain about that."

Natalie faintly narrowed her eyes at Annabelle, not in distrust but more curiosity and then slowly nodded her head. "You know, you may not be Mari, but you are a lot like her." Natalie commented.

Annabelle smiled. "I guess that's why they casted me. They felt I was able to portray her well."

Natalie's expression fell, this wasn't her sister, her real sister, but she was damn well close to it. Just her persona and her attitude, it was almost like a copy of Marina.

"So, how do you like the new guy?" Annabelle suddenly asked.

"What new guy?"

"Andrew? He plays Caden." Annabelle clarified.

"Oh, right." Natalie said. _God there is no way I can get away from him. _"Um. He seems okay, I guess. Don't really know him that well. I can't really form an opinion about him."

Annabelle nodded and then pulled her phone out of her pocket once it began to vibrate. She glanced down at the screen and stood up. "Crap. Bob needs to see me about next week's shoot so I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?"

Natalie gave her a quick nod as she walked over to the door and opened it. "Oh. Looks like Jared and Jensen are on their way." Annabelle said before walking out of the trailer.

Natalie made her way over to the door and walked down the steps and closed the door behind her. By the look on Sam and Dean's face, she could tell that something was off.

"So, what did you two gather?" Natalie asked once he reached her.

Sam raised his arms. "We couldn't find any of the ingredients because they were all fake. Everything."

Natalie nodded. "So..."

"So, were stuck here until we can figure out what to do next." Sam answered.

"Yeah, but my question is, how do we get out of this place? This set or whatever you wanna call it." Dean asked.

"Lily." A man's voice appeared behind Natalie, though she didn't really seemed phased by it at first. The man placed his hand on her shoulder. "Lily?"

Natalie immediately turned around and saw a tall guy, kind of buff, looked to be in his early thirties and she mentally reminded herself that she was Lily in this place. Not Natalie. "Yeah?"

"You ready to go now?"

Dean stepped beside Natalie and offered the man a quick smile. "I'm sorry, uh, go where? Where are you taking her?"

The man gave Dean a look. "Um. I'm taking her home. Filming for today is over."

"Wait, I have my own driver?" Natalie asked.

The man slowly nodded. "Yes. You all do, incase you have a late shoot, you don't have to drive yourself home. I thought you three knew this."

"No, we do, um it's just been a...long day." Natalie explained.

"Okay. Well, let's get going then."

"Hey, uh." Dean spoke stopping them from going anywhere. "We thought that we would go with Nad-I mean Lily to her house. You know maybe run some...lines. So if that's okay with you."

The man eyed Dean and then nodded. "Um, yeah, did you tell Cliff that?"

"Who?" Dean asked, his brows furrowed."

"Cliff. Your bodyguard and he drives you around." The man explained though he only received blank stares from Sam and Dean. "Uh, don't worry about it, I'll call him before we leave. But, Jared did you tell Gen that you were doing that?"

Sam stared at the man, a little oblivious to his question. "Tell who?"

"Gen." The man repeated though he didn't get any kind of response from Sam. "Genevieve. Your wife?"

Natalie and Dean slowly turned to look at Sam, who looked just as surprised as they were. "Um. I haven't really gotten to that...yet."

"Okay, well, I'll have Cliff let her know. Are you sure you three are okay?"

The three hunters all nodded their heads and it gave the man some kind of reassurance, but it wasn't enough to fully convince him. "Okay then. Lets go."

* * *

><p>Natalie stepped out of the car and walked across the driveway and up towards the cobblestone path towards the front door. She looked at Sam and Dean who were standing on both sides and she let out a huff. "Pretty nice house."<p>

"You can say that again. Can't wait to see what the inside looks like." Dean commented.

They walk up the stone pathway and up a small set of steps. Natalie walked up to the door, grabbed the handle and pushed only to run right into the door. Stepping back slightly, she tried opening the door again and come to find out, it's locked.

"It's locked." She commented as she continued to try her vain attempt to open a locked door.

"Do you have the keys?" Dean asked.

Natalie looked up at him. "We don't belong in this place, wherever it is, do you really think I would have the keys to a home I don't live in?"

The man, who was standing by his car, was watching the three of them bickering among themselves and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Lily?" He called out and waited for her to look at him. "Do you have your keys?"

Natalie looked back at the door then back to the man. "No. I, um, I think I might have lost them."

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a key and motioned for her to take them. "You told me to make spares to I did."

Natalie huffed out a breath and walked back down the path and took the key from him. "Thanks. Um. Have a good night I guess."

The man nodded. "You too. I'll pick you three up at eight tomorrow."

"Okay." Natalie gave him a smile before turning around and walking back up the pathway. "At least Lily had the common sense to have spares made." Natalie commented as she unlocked the door and then opened it.

Stepping inside, the place was already lit up and the place was, lack of a better word, huge. Well at least big enough to house more than one person. By the look of everything, Natalie wouldn't call this a house, but more of a condo, an apartment maybe. The first room you stepped into was the living room and connected to that was the kitchen and a little dinning area. It was all one room, like an apartment, but it was bigger than what Natalie felt was a typical apartment. There was a set of stairs to the left of the apartment that led upstairs and Natalie could only imagine what was up there and a small hallway that led to, what Natalie could surmise, as the bedroom and everything else.

"Okay, there is no way that I can live here all by myself." Natalie said, walking over to the couch she ran her fingers over the material.

"Apparently you do." Dean said as he walked fully into the living room section. There was one entire cabinet that was covered in nothing but framed photos. Scanning over them, Dean's eyes landed on one, recognizing someone in the photo and when he picked it up he saw a note scribbled onto the photo, but at the end it was sign 'Love, Dad'. Dean then looked at the two people in the photo seeing Natalie and an older man, then his eyes widened.

"Dude!" Dean suddenly called out, causing Natalie to jump. "Your dad is Phil Collins."

Natalie looked over at Dean her brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Dean walked over to Natalie and held up the photo. "Your dad, here at least, is Phil Collins."

"The singer?" Natalie asked then looked down at the photo and saw the note and her eyes widened. "Oh. Well, that actually makes sense, I mean the name and everything. That's kinda cool actually."

Sam, who had made his way towards a stereo set, gazed at it curiously and then turned on the device and pressed play. The sounds of a piano soon filled throughout the house, prompting Dean and Natalie to look over at Sam. The three of them waited until the words from 'Against All Odds' by Phil Collins began to play.

Natalie gave a half nod of approval. "Well, at least she's supportive of her dad."

Sam turned to the stereo and turned off the music and looked back at them. "Okay, well, since the ingredients we needed were fake, we should try and find actual ones. That way we can reverse the spell."

"Right." Dean looked around the house and was at a lost. "Where would a computer be then? Her bedroom?"

Natalie shrugged. "Maybe you two should check upstairs. I'm gonna go look at the rest of the house."

Dean raised his arms. "Really?"

Natalie turned to Dean and shrugged. "Hey, I'm here so might as well."

….

Sam typed in a few more things on the laptop and clicked on a link that sent him to a website. He and Dean were on the upper level of the apartment and they found a huge study. If anything, they could tell that Lily was a bookworm of sorts.

"Okay, so bone of a saint and holy reliquary. There is one that is museum quality, from diocese in Oaxaca. I think it actually looks legit." Sam finally spoke.

Dean nodded as he was searching through his own sites on another laptop. "All right. Well, here, the auction house is in Mexico City. And we could be there day after tomorrow. We just have to case it, yank it and we can be back home by the end of the week."

Sam gave Dean a look. "Or we could just buy it."

Dean had to look at Sam twice. "What?! Dude no, that thing is like over a hundred thousand dollars."

"Yeah and I have a way for fixing that." Sam holds up a credit card and Dean raised his brows I approval.

"Well, hello Jared Padalecki."

Natalie walked up the staircase the most bemused look on her face. "Okay, this girl, Lily, I swear she has the biggest wardrobe I have ever seen in my life. I mean her closet is huge, full of clothes, shoes and purses. Purses that I have never really seen before."

Dean and Sam raised their brows.

"I mean, for an apartment, this place is just huge. The bedroom was bigger than it should be and don't even get me started on the size of the bathroom."

Natalie walked over to one of the spare lounge chairs and sat down before blowing out a sigh. "So, what did you two manage to find?"

"Well, we were able to find the ingredients and I'm going to order them right now." Sam answered as he began to fill out the online information and then took out his phone, before dialing out a number.

"Do you really think that it will work? The reversal spell, I mean." Natalie asked, looking over at Dean.

"It should. But, we won't be sure until tomorrow." Dean answered as he typed out information for his purchase. "And...triple rush on this. No problemo."

"Gracias." Sam pulled the phone away and ended the call. "They said that it should be at the airport first thing in the morning."

Dean raised his brows. "Money, man. There is nothing like it."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it? I should have the next chapter up sometime after Christmas, hopefully this weekend. Until next time! Xx<strong>


	30. Chapter 30

_A/N: So I went back and added just a tiny bit more (like very tiny) detail into the beginning of the last chapter. I did so to make sure that this chapter and the previous one had continuity within them. Also there is something that I have contemplating on since I started planning out Natalie's story arch. I decided that I would love to discuss it with you guys, but of course I'm not gonna spoil it by putting it in an author's note or anything. So, I'm gonna put it out there. If any of you would like to know what happens to Natalie and what might/will happen in future installments, go ahead and send me a message on fanfiction, I will tell you. And it might give me a chance to hear any ideas you guys might have and we can discuss them together!_

_Now that we have that out of the way, let's get on with it shall we!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly did we pick up at the airport?"<p>

Natalie looked over at John, she was actually able to coax him into saying his name, though the coaxing on her part wasn't that good. "You really don't want to know." Natalie opened the studio door and walked in with John trailing behind her.

"Wait a minute." He walked up next to her. "What we just did? That wasn't anything...illegal was it?"

Biting down on her lip, Natalie side glanced over to him. "No. Of course not."

"Are you being serious? Or was that a lie?"

"Which would make you feel better?" Natalie asked looking at him.

John went silent and then shook his head. "No. I think I don't want any part of that. I'm gonna go and I'll pick you up when the shoot for today is over."

Natalie pursed her lips into a smile and watched him walk away before turning towards the set, that was supposed to look like Clara's home, and walked in.

Dean and Sam were over at one of the prop tables, opening up the package they had picked up at the airport. Dean pulled out one of the items and examined it, before looking over at Natalie.

"I think John is officially to suspicious about us." Natalie pulled the box over to her and began to sift through the contents.

"Who?" Dean asked.

"My driver." Natalie answered off handedly. "So, what, all of this is supposed to get us back home?"

"Yeah. We just need to do the spell, right, and then we should be out of here."

The lights on the set came on, prompting the three hunters to look around them, confusingly. "What the hell?" Dean questioned.

"We finished today in 12 hours, if it kills us all." Bob called around the set. "Get 'a' and 'b' cam for scene 12." Bob walked onto the living room set and looked down at the box on the table. "What is this? Though I can probably say that you three are here for the first-run through. Dedication.

"Right. Uh." Dean walked over to Bob and slowly led him away. "I need to talk to you. We're gonna need the, uh, set cleared for about an hour or so."

Bob looked up at Dean, his brows furrowed. "You need the set cleared. For what?"

"We, uh, Me and Jared and um...Lily, were gonna do some actor stuff."

Bob placed his hand on Dean's shoulder and gave him a few pats. "Jensen, we're all thrilled to see you three collaborating so creatively. And your enthusiasm is refreshing. Hell, Dean Cain was like that on 'Lois' and that man's a real actor. And we will clear this set exactly when we shoot the 2 3/8 pages we are scheduled to shoot. So do your actor stuff and we'll do our camera stuff, and uh..."

Dean blinked a couple of times before turning around and walking back towards Sam and Natalie.

Misha walks onto the set, fixing his tie, and curiously looks down at the box. "Ooh, priority. What's in it?"

"I bought part of a dead person." Sam blatantly stated.

Natalie bit down on the side of her lip as she looked up at Misha, seeing the slight horrified look on his face and she had to fight to not laugh at his expression.

"Oh, cool." Misha answered before walking away from them.

"Don't you think you were a little to blunt about that Sam?" Natalie moved closer to Sam, her voice low enough for only him to hear.

"It's not like we're gonna be here long anyways." Sam answered truthfully.

"Hey." Dean spoke as he stood next to them. "So, uh, looks like we're gonna have to do a little...acting."

Sam and Natalie's brows raised and they gave Dean a look asking, 'say that again'. "What?" Sam finally questioned.

"Yeah. So get your...acting spirits out because...we're gonna need them."

Natalie let out a laugh as she saw several crew members readying two cameras in front of them and she looked at Dean, more nervously. "You can't be serious. They're expecting us to act."

"It is our 'job'." Dean replied, air quoting the word job.

"Oh, this is going to be really interesting." Natalie silently commented.

….

Natalie looked around the set, trying to not get annoyed with the woman that was messing with her hair, her eyes then settled on the 'x' that she was standing on.

_"Supernatural scene 36. Take 1. Marker!" _

A voice boomed around the set and Natalie looked up at a guy with some movie marker and slammed it down. "Action!"

Natalie's attention was brought over to Castiel, or Misha, whatever he's called here, and his back was turned to them as he began to say his lines. "Balthazar is no hero. But he knows Raphael will never take him back." Misha finished as he turned to look at them.

Natalie side glanced over to the boys, seeing Sam looking as if he was going to have a panic attack and Dean's face..._what the hell was he doing? _

Dean hesitantly walked forward and looked down, seeing that he was off his mark, and side stepped to the left, effectively getting back on his mark.

"Cut!"

Natalie jumped at the sudden voice and was a little baffled at the crew around them, bustling around to get the set ready once again. Taking this chance, Natalie scooted closer to Sam. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Sam let out a breath. "This isn't what we do Nad. This is so...uncomfortable."

Natalie let out a huff. "You're telling me. Wonder how many more times we have to do this."

….

The same man walked in front of the camera, holding the marker, waiting for everyone to calm down. _"Supernatural scene 36. Take 8. Marker!" _He slammed down the slab again.

"Action!"

Natalie stood in her usual spot, not moving, good thing too because she didn't want to. Though out of the corner of her eye, Sam was moving, quite a lot actually. Looking over at him, she saw him moving his arms and rearranging them in different positions, folding and unfolding them over his chest. Her eyes narrowed confusingly as she looked up at his face, seeing he was trying to act serious.

Dean kept his focus on Misha, his mouth twitching into a side smirk as he looked down at his script, trying his best not to make it noticeable. "Dean grimly. And yet, somehow you got no problem with it."

"Cut!" Bob stood up from his chair and walked onto the set. "Okay, Jensen, you're doing good, but maybe we can do better? And Lily?"

Natalie snapped her gaze over at the older man and raised her brows expectantly.

"Maybe we can use more movement from you. You're too...stiff. Loosen up a little."

Natalie furrowed her brows and nodded like she understood. _What does loosen up mean in the acting world? Do I need to stretch? Why would I stretch when they are filming something? That would just look to weird. _"Okay. I got it!" She called out, giving a fake smile.

….

_"Supernatural scene 36. Take 9. Marker!" _

Natalie nodded to herself. _Okay, he said to loosen up. So loosen up. _Natalie began to swing her arms back and forth, while leaning up on her toes and then back down on her heels several times.

Sam swayed his body from side to side, the look on his face only emanated how uncomfortable he was. "That's because...that's because we have no other choice."

Dean slowly turns to the side to look at Sam. "Don't look at the camera."

"What?"

"Look anywhere but the camera." He strained out before looking back at Misha.

Sam hesitated for a moment, his eyes wandering around for another place to look at. Finally, he settled for the ceiling. "That's because we have no other choice!" He exhaled out, rather dramatically.

The sound of clapping earned both of their attentions. Sam and Dean both turned to look at Natalie, who was now clapping, swinging her arms in front and then the back, as she continued to lean up and down on her feet and she had somewhat of a pout face going on. The guy wanted her to loosen up, this is what came to her mind.

Feeling eyes on her, Natalie slowly stopped and looked over at everyone who was looking at her and she widened her eyes in questioning.

"Cut! For the love of god!"

….

"Action!"

Natalie was now standing closer to Misha, with Sam located just a little bit towards the back, behind her.

Sam raised one of his arms as he walked up between Dean and Natalie. "If there's a key, then..." Sam raised his other arm into a stiff position. "...there must be a lock. And when we find the lock, we can get the weapons." Sam quickly turned to Natalie, his hands now hovering in front of her face, which made Natalie back up slightly. "And then we can have the weapons. And the lock. We'll still have the lock, I imagine, because we've opened it, and, of course, the initial key..."

"We need to get all three of that crap."

Natalie blinked slowly as she looked over at Dean, the sudden deepness in his voice caught her off guard and his face was something she could only describe as priceless.

"What?" Sam asked confusingly.

"That's how he does it." Dean quietly answered.

Sam looked back at Misha and the camera crew. "Oh, right."

Dean suddenly backed up and looked out of the prop window where Bob was. "Do we really need all these lines? I mean, I think we've covered it. Right?"

"Cut! What is happening?! What's happening?!"

Dean looked back at Natalie, who gave him a shrug. At least this was over with, well at least it seemed like it. Surely, these people would need a break after the atrocity they just witnessed. Sam motioned for Dean to follow, and nudged Natalie in the arm as he brushed past her, back towards their chairs.

Sam picked up the script that was sitting on his chair and skimmed through the pages. "Who wrote this? Nobody says, penultimate."

"Gun. Mouth. Now." Dean motioned toward his mouth.

"Well, let's just hope that they will clear the soon so that we can get started on this damn spell." Natalie could almost consider the next event to be a blissful moment.

"Moving on!" A voice called out.

"Thank god." Dean stood up from his chair. "Let's get this spell going."

….

Sam placed the box back down on the prop table located on the living room set and began to pull out the various contents. Gathering from what he remembered seeing Balthazar do, Sam knew that this spell was fairly simple, from what he saw at least. Mixing the ingredients together, Sam quickly handed the bowl off to Dean.

"And you two are positive that this will work?" Natalie asked, her eyes moving along with Dean's motions.

"Well, I don't know if you could say we are one hundred percent positive." Sam answered as he set the empty box on the ground next to the table. "But, more than likely, it should take us back home."

"And considering what we've been experiencing here, damn it, we earned this." Dean stepped away from the window, having completed the sigil.

"That's it?"

"That's it, Toto." Deam remarked, skimming over the sigil once more.

"Are you sure?" Natalie asked, doubtfully. "I mean, there is no way a spell like what Balthazar did, could be this simple?" She gestured towards the sigil on the window.

"There's only one way to find out." Dean answered.

Natalie shrugged off her doubt and positioned herself next to Dean, who was standing between her and Sam. The three of them took their stance just a few feet from the window, each of them garnering their adrenaline to do this right.

"We only got one shot." Dean kept his eyes on the window. "All right. On three. One. Two. Three."

The three hunters took off and just about a foot away from the window, they all jumped and crashed through the window, only to end up on the other side of the set.

Natalie fell directly on her bad side, with her still healing wound from that piece of glass that injured her, and her disgruntled groan was proof of that. Natalie rolled onto her back, her hand going up to her side, applying pressure to her throbbing side.

Blowing out a painful breath, Natalie turned her head to the side, seeing Dean and Sam slightly rolling on their sides.

"Okay." Dean strained out in a groan. "That one hurt. I didn't work."

Natalie closed her eyes and huffed in annoyance as she threw a quick hit to Dean's back, which was met by his protesting groan. Instead of trying to get up, Natalie simply continued resting on her back. One, her back and side her bothering her now and two, she just wanted to go home.

* * *

><p>Dean opened the door to his trailer, allowing Sam and Natalie to walk in before following them in. "Well, at least you said that you weren't one hundred percent sure that it would work." Natalie walked over to one of the sofas and plopped down.<p>

Sam took a seat at the table booth and rested his hands in his lap. "Maybe we did it wrong."

"No." Dean shook his head as he took a seat. "No, that -that spell was perfect. It should have worked."

"It was exactly how you remembered seeing Balthazar perform it, right?"

"Exactly how I remembered it."

"Well, what if it can't?" Sam paused to see both of their reactions before continuing. "Look, I was up all night, looking online. There's no sign that anything like the apocalypse happened here. Ever. And as far as I can tell, monsters, ghosts, demons...they don't exist."

Dean tilted his head and gave a quick shrug. "So nobody's hunting them?"

"No hunters. Look, maybe that's why our spell didn't work, you know? Maybe here, there's no supernatural, no magic."

"No demons, no hell, no heaven, no god?" Dean finished.

"Something like. Even better...no angels." Sam added lastly.

Natalie pressed her hands to her face and slowly dragged them down. "So. What? Since there might not be any magic or monsters...we can't get back."

Dean and Sam silently mulled over Natalie's words, thinking that maybe, it could be a possibility. That they would be stuck here.

"So, we're stuck here basically."

"Unless we find some other way to get back. Which we should try and do." Dean answered.

"What exactly are we going to do? I mean, we are in an alternate dimension and literally, Dean, I don't mean to be a downer, the only way back to our place, is from what Balthazar did."

"No. We're just gonna need to figure something else out, Nad. That's all."

"Don't think we're gonna be able to find anything else Dean." Natalie stood up from the chair and walked over to the trailer door.

"Where are you going?" Sam was quick to ask.

Natalie paused and looked over at him. "I'm just gonna get some air."

* * *

><p>Entwining her hands together and then stretching out her fingers, hearing satisfying pops, Natalie then numbly rested her hands in her lap. Looking up, the sky was now going dark and several people were walking across the lot. The set was getting ready to close down, though some of the crew still had a few more things that they needed to complete.<p>

_There is no way we are stuck here for good. _Natalie crossed her arms on top of her knees and blew out a sigh before resting her forehead against her arms, groaning in frustration.

"What are you so beaten up about?" A voice came out from nowhere and it had a, slightly heavy, British accent, though the zone had somewhat of a familiarity to it.

Leaning away, Natalie slowly looked up at the familiar face and her brows furrowed. "Caden..." She said in almost a whisper.

"Uh, no. Andrew remember." Andrew answered before huffing out a quick laugh. "Well, I'm not surprised because Annabelle told me you did the same to her earlier."

Natalie stared at him, eyes widened, then they narrowed as she began to ponder on something. "When did you have a British accent?"

Andrew gave Natalie an obvious look and raised his arms up. "I've always had a British accent."

"No. No you've never had that accent before. You are not British."

"Yes, I am. The character doesn't have an accent. Which is where my non-accent voice comes in handy."

Natalie stared blankly at Andrew for only a moment before pressing her hands up to her face and mumbling something that he couldn't quite make out.

"Are you okay? Everyone seems to be worried about you."

"Everyone is always worried." Natalie groaned. "I'm not supposed to be here. None of this is right. I'm supposed to be at my Aunt's house and you aren't supposed to be British."

Andrew pursed his lips to the side and scratched the side of his head, not really knowing what to do with this. "Um. I think you might be working to hard. Maybe you should ask them to cut back some of your hours."

Natalie laughed and stood up from where she was sitting. "I don't need to have hours cut back, because, none of this is real."

Andrew's eyes widened and he slowly nodded, pretending like he was accepting of what she was saying. "You are not okay. Maybe you should try and talk to someone."

"I don't need to talk to anyone."

"Are you sure?" He raised his brows, questioningly. "I mean, you can tell me if you need to."

Natalie looked over at him and the moment when she first met Caden came flooding back to her. That was her first meeting and then the very brief moment she had when he came to Clara's house. All Natalie knew was that Caden was responsible for getting Emily to safety and she didn't even know if that happened. And looking at, Andrew, Natalie just wanted to ask him if Emily was safe, but he wasn't even Caden. In the end, it just frustrated her to even look at him.

"If I were to tell you what was going on, you wouldn't believe me. Trust me."

"You think that I wouldn't be able to handle it?"

"No, it would make you think that I was absolutely crazy and you would probably go and fetch one of the crew members and then they would have to come and...take me away or something."

Andrew gave a quick nod and tilted his head. "It really can't be that bad. Well, like I said before, I think you just need to get some more time off."

"Don't we all."

Natalie felt a hand on her shoulder and when she turned around, she saw Marina or Annabelle, with tears streaming down her face. "Are you okay?" Natalie asked cautiously.

"You haven't heard!" Annabelle choked out.

Natalie took hold of Annabelle's arm and gave her a look, mentally telling her to calm down. "Heard about what?"

"Misha...Misha has been stabbed to death!"

Natalie furrowed her brows for a moment and then she gave Annabelle a reassuring squeeze on her arm. "Where did he get stabbed?"

Annabelle halted in her sobs as she gave Natalie a confused look. "What do you mean where?"

"Where was he killed?" Natalie repeated, not really thinking about how that might have sounded to her. "Come on, I need to know."

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly did she tell you?" Dean asked as they walked into the alleyway.<p>

"She said that, Misha, was killed. And from what you guys told me about that one angel we saw back at Aunt Clara's house and now he's here...I don't know, it can't be a coincidence that someone suddenly got killed now that he's here." Natalie answered as she made their way over to where the cops were.

Looking down on the ground, near the wall, they saw a body that was covered in a white sheet and it wasn't hard to know that it was Misha. Natalie pursed at her lips at the scene and then looked to the boys, wondering if they had anything thoughts on the matter.

"Not really sure what to make of it." Dean finally answered.

_"Yeah, yeah, Raphael. Like the ninja turtle. He was calling someone name of Raphael, up in heaven."_

Sam looked down the alleyway, seeing that a cop was talking to a homeless guy and of course the mentioning of Raphael is what got his attention. "Hey, let's see what he knows."

"Yeah, yeah. That's right. The - the scary man killed the attractive crying man, and then he started to pray. And after a while, I swear I heard this voice, answering."

"What did it say?" Sam asked once they had reached him.

"Well, it didn't make any sense."

"Try us." Dean replied.

"The voice said, for Virgil to return tomorrow at the place where he crossed over, at the time of the crossing. and Raphael would reach through the window and take him and the key home."

"And you didn't hear anything else?" Natalie asked.

The man shook his head. "No, after that, the man was gone."

Natalie looked up at Sam, they both nodded at the man before turning and walking back down the alleyway. "Okay, so Virgil got through and he has the key, right?"

"He snatched it from me today on the set."

"That's not a good thing." Natalie commented.

Dean walked up alongside Sam. "So far, Virgil has the key and Raphael knows about it. And if we don't get Virgil and he gets through...that's not gonna be good."

"If Virgil gets back with that key, Cas is dead, and our world is toast." Sam replied.

"Well, then we stop him. I mean, how bad can an angel with no wings be?"

Natalie casted Dean a wary glance. "He may not have his mojo, but that doesn't mean he can't find alternate means of creating destruction."

"He seriously can't do anything that bad."

* * *

><p>Natalie looked at herself in the mirror, inwardly groaning at the fact that in a few minutes she would be covered in a huge bundle of makeup. Though she didn't know where the woman was and Natalie still had not managed to find out her name. What the was the point, right? Hopefully, they would be out of here soon. If they stayed here any longer, then Natalie assumed she would work to find out who the lady was that was responsible for her physical appearance.<p>

Settling back against her seat, Natalie tapped her fingers against her knees in a made up rhythm and blew out a breath. The stage door was opening and closing repeatedly and strangely, Natalie got used to it fairly quickly. Everyone was always coming and going. It wasn't anything new.

Looking up in the mirror, from the corner behind her shoulder, Natalie spotted a man walking in and he looked strangely familiar. Natalie leaned forward in her chair, inching closer to the mirror, and at that moment, she was able to recognize the face. Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the mans face and it was then he raised a shotgun and was aiming right at Natalie.

Her eyes immediately widened and she threw herself out of the chair just as a round was shot off and shattered the mirror she had been looking into. Natalie looked over and saw him click in another round, scattering to her feet, Natalie ran towards one of the set walls and hid behind it as a few more rounds were shot off, piercing the wall.

Looking around, Natalie could see everyone running about, trying to get out of the stage and she could hear screams and more shots being fired, though they weren't being targeted at her. Natalie took this as her cue and ran down towards the house set, where she knew Sam and Dean would be hopefully.

Pushing through a crowd of people, Natalie stumbled towards the opening of the set and ran right into someone, letting out a quick scream from the impact. A pair of arms immediately enveloped around her, holding her close when a voice finally came through.

"Dean and I are going to try and get the key back." Sam advised her, very quickly too.

Natalie looked up at Sam and then behind him. "Where is Dean?"

"Already making his move." Sam answered.

"Well, then let me help real quick."

"No, no, Nad!"

Natalie pushed past Sam, despite his attempt to keep her back, and she ran past the house set and out in the middle of the stage.

Natalie saw Virgil aiming his gun into one of the other sets and shot off a round. "Hey!" Natalie called out and faintly smirked when Virgil looked over at her. Raising his gun towards her, Natalie quickly ducked and hearing the window behind her shattering. Looking back, Natalie saw Dean tackling Virgil through one of the walls that led into a motel room set.

Standing up back up, Natalie quickly made a dash for the set and was met by Sam who was quickly rounding around the corner and they both met at the entrance. Throwing the door open, seeing that Dean was punching Virgil, Sam took this as his cue and knelt down next to Virgil, hastily digging through his pockets.

Natalie fully entered the room, just as Sam pulled out the key. "I got it Dean." Natalie breathed out in relief and out of the corner of her eye, on the window, she saw a sigil glowing on the glass.

"Uh...Sam, Dean?"

Dean and Sam both turn and saw the sigil on the window and they both shared a look. "Raphael." Sam finally said. "Run!"

The three of them tried to run, but they were suddenly yanked back and their bodies crashed through the window and landing down on a hard surface. Natalie turned onto her side and rolled onto her hands and knees.

"You three...just seem to have the strangest luck, don't you?" A woman's voice was what they were greeted with.

The three hunters slowly stood up and their eyes scanned over the woman before them. Dean tilted his head slightly. "Raphael? Nice meat suit. Dude looks like a lady." He finished with a small smirk.

Raphael mocked Dean's smile before closing her fist, causing the three of them to hunch over in pain, a strong painful tightening forming in their stomachs.

"Great choice of words Dean." Natalie choked out.

"The key." Raphael looked down on the concrete and picked up the keys that had fallen out of Sam's hand.

"And that will open you a locker at the Albany bus station." Balthazar walked closer to her, a somewhat satisfied look on his face.

"Really."

"You see, I needed a modest decoy to make it more convincing." Balthazar eyed the three hunters and gave a shrug.

"Give me the weapons, Balthazar."

Balthazar raised his brows and gave Raphael a mocking apologetic shrug. "Sorry, darling. They're gone."

"What?!"

"I said, too bloody late." He repeated, though there was a little bit more of a harshness to his voice. "You see, they were so well-hidden that I needed time to find them. So, I volunteered these three marmosets for a game of fetch with Virgil." Balthazar then turned his attention to the three hunters. "You three were such an adequate stick. Thank you."

"Oh, yeah, it was no problem." Natalie replied sarcastically.

"You've made your last mistake." Raphael warned.

"Oh, I've got a few more up my sleeve, honey."

"Oh. And what exactly is that?" Raphael asked.

"Raphael." Caden appeared from behind Balthazar. "I think it would be wise, if you were to leave right now."

Raphael gave him a blank stare as her head tilted. "Caden. And here I thought you weren't on anyone's side."

"Guess you can say I made up my mind." Caden replied. "But, I highly advise that you leave."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you'll have to deal with me."

Raphael turned quickly and saw Castiel. "I have the weapons now. Their power is with me." He went on to say If you don't want to die tonight, back off."

The two angels stayed in their places, their eyes staring each other down, thinking one would break before the other. Whether it was out of fear or not, Raphael was the one who made the choice and quickly disappeared.

"Well, Cas...Now that you have your sword, try not to die by it." Balthazar offered Castiel a quick smile before disappearing.

Natalie looked between the two remaining angels and decided that she needed to talk with Caden. With her hand pressed against her side, Natalie walked over to Caden, glad at least this was the real Caden and not Andrew from the other place.

"I've had the weirdest experience. Did you know about what Balthazar was doing?"

Caden slowly nodded. "To some extent. I had no idea where he was sending you. I didn't know he was using you three as a distraction until later on."

Natalie pouted her lips and hummed. "Well, he seems like the kind of angel who would wait till the last minute to mention something like that."

"He did mean well though." Caden was quick to add. "He made sure that Raphael wouldn't find the weapons. If he did, all of this would have been catastrophic."

Natalie stared at Caden and smiled, thinking back on what she experienced in the other reality. "You know, I met a different version of you. You were not Caden, but Andrew and you had a British accent. I can just say that I'm glad it's the real you that I'm talking to you."

Caden only merely nodded at her words and she thought that she saw a small hint of a smile tug at his lips.

"I guess, what I need to say is that...thank you. You got Emily out, safely."

"Yes. I made sure that she and the rest of your family wouldn't be targeted." Caden answered.

"And I thank you for that. You helped, not only me, but my family as well." Natalie paused and looked back seeing that Castiel, Dean and Sam were looking at her. She blinked and then turned back to Caden. "I know I was a little, hesitant about you, but you have been helping. So, can I trust you?"

"Yes, you can. If you don't, then that is up to you. But, that won't stop me from helping."

Natalie nodded silently and pressed her lips together. "Well, thank you. For what you did. And I am sure this won't be the last time I see you."

This time, Caden did show a small smile that was met with a quick nod. "And you are right about that. Take care of yourself."

Taking her smile as his cue, Caden disappeared leaving the rest of them standing in silence. Natalie huffed out a breath and turned back around to the others and walked over to them. Though she didn't miss the curious look on Dean, Castiel and Sam's face.

"You finally going to tell us how you know him?" Sam asked once she was standing next to him.

"What Balthazar said was true." Natalie answered without much hesitation. There was no use for her to keep this from them any longer. "Caden was at the hospital when I left, but before I could confront him, he disappeared. So, naturally, I thought it was just the medication still messing with my mind. That was until I got to the motel. I was on the phone with Bobby and I saw Caden standing in the parking lot. He was the reason why my concussion went away."

Sam's brows raised and he blinked a few times to try and piece it together. "So, he came into your room, while Dean and I were sleeping. He could've done anything."

"Yeah, but he didn't." Natalie corrected. "Listen, at first I felt really sketchy about him. But, he helped me and he got Emily out of there, made sure that Mari and Aunt Clara were safe."

"So, what you think we can trust him?" Dean asked.

"He said that he was no threat to us. All he wants to do is help. For reasons, I do not yet know, but, I don't know. Maybe we can trust him." Natalie finished.

Dean looked over at Castiel, seeing the pensive look on his face. "Do you know him Cas?"

"Of course. Caden is one of the younger angels, but, he is honest and loyal. He is a good angel, one of the best soldiers as well. If you want to know if he is trustworthy, take it from me, you can trust him."

"And I'm not saying that I trust him one hundred percent now." Natalie said to both Dean and Sam. "But, I'm starting to think that I can."

"I just don't get why all of a sudden some random angel just wants to help." Sam added.

Natalie numbly shrugged and went silent. That was the only thing that seemed to still bother her about Caden. It just didn't make sense that an angel would just want to help like that. Maybe that was something that occurred, but from Natalie's past experiences with angels, this was almost unheard of.

"Guess that's something that I need to find out. If there is a motive or not. And if there is, then there might be a big problem."

* * *

><p><strong>So, how did you all like it? How are you liking Caden? Do you want to see more of him? Let me know! I know this was kinda short but I am working on the next one so i am hoping to have it up by the end of this weekend! until next time! Xx<strong>


	31. Chapter 31

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Sorry you all had to wait once again for this new chapter, I was in Omaha visiting a friend this week and barely had time to work on the chapter. But, at least this chapter is going to be a long one._

_Also, __**marieniz V**__, pertaining to what we discussed, this chapter will involve a particular scene that will be the first step towards addressing the topic that we talked about. _

_And to just make clear, the italicized accounts are memories or flashbacks. _

_Anyways let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Natalie stood in front of a map that Bobby had pinned up on a board on the wall. Her head tilted to the side as her eyes followed the trail that he had made. "Hey Bobby, so what's with all of this?" She pointed at the map and turned to look at him.<p>

"I've been getting blasts from hunters all week." Bobby stood next to Natalie and then pointed at one part of the map. "Nest of vamps. Werewolf dance party. Shifters, six of them. Two hunters died taking them out. Ghouls, ghouls. Ghoul-wraith smorgasbord." Bobby's finger pointed at the various locations where he had heard the events had happened.

"That all was just in one burst of activity. Out of nowhere." Natalie hummed to herself and scanned over the trail that was made and she reached up, tracing it with her finger and her brows furrowed. "It's all just one straight path."

Dean walked over to the board and stood next to Natalie, taking a moment to look at what Bobby had done. "Is it just me, or is that a straight kick-line down I-80?"

"Exactly."

"Looks to me like it's a Sherman march monster mash." Dean commented and walked away from the board.

Natalie smiled faintly at Dean's comment then turned away from the map. "Okay, so in this Sherman monster march, where exactly would they be going to? Just to spread out in different locations?"

"I might have an idea of where we can start." Bobby took out a marker and circled an area on the map.

Sam stood up from the couch and looked at where Bobby had marked. "What is that exactly?"

"Got a report of some guy bashing in his family's heads." Bobby walked over to his desk and pulled out a newspaper clipping that he got and held it out, which Natalie took.

Natalie skimmed through the reading until she got to the description of what had happened. "It says that Rick Hansen, a truck driver, called 9-1-1 when he came home and found his wife and family dead, major head trauma. Police did forensics on the murder weapon and found his prints." Natalie finished and huffed out her slight disgust. "If he really did do this, then this guy must have been pissed if he killed his family like that. Either that or he's just psychotic." Natalie placed the clipping back down on the table.

"You think that this has something to do with the whole Eve thing?" Dean asked.

"It's the only explanation we got. I mean you have a whole hoard of various monster parties going on and then this happens. I just feel like it's all connected somehow." Bobby explained.

"You want to check this out then?" Sam asked.

"Might as well." Natalie said. "I mean if this killing has something to do with this mother of all thing, then we might be able to get some kind of trail or understanding of what it's all about."

The four of them silently agreed amongst each other and Bobby finally sighed and began to gather up the papers that had sprawled across the table. "Might as well get our suits ready."

* * *

><p>Walking into the police station, the four of them held up their badges to the Sheriff. "Hi, we're here to speak with the suspect, Rick Hansen."<p>

The Sheriff gave the four of them a look and then nodded. "Didn't think the Feds would be interested in this."

"We just felt like it was necessary to come in and get some information on the case." Sam answered as he slipped his badge back into his coat pocket.

"Right. Well, if you will follow me then." The Sheriff turned around and walked past the front desk towards a hallway that was at the back of the station.

"What has the suspect said about the homicide?" Sam asked.

"He doesn't deny what he did, but he is more perplexed than anything else. Says that he doesn't remember what happened that night." The Sheriff stopped outside of the interrogation room and motioned for them to enter.

Sam nodded their thanks and opened the door, allowing the four of them to enter the room. Rick was sitting at the table, his one hand covering the other and his face was filled with nothing but grief and shock.

"Rick Hansen?" Sam offered him a quick smile as he showed his badge. "We're here from the FBI. We just would like to ask you a few questions about the murders."

Rick blinked a couple of times, his gaze moving way from them. "I already told the cops. I don't remember anything. I blacked out."

"It's okay." Dean said with reassurance. "Just try and tell us what you do remember."

"I was just driving me regular route, and then I woke up in my truck at work."

"And where's work?" Sam asked.

"Starlight Cannery. But, I don't remember how I got there. So, I tried calling home. When no one picked up. I went home and found them..."

"Anything unusual before you blacked out? Sights, smells, anything off the routine?" Bobby asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"No." Rick shook his head. "Basic night. I was giving some kid from the truck stop a ride. She took off. I think she took off."

Natalie tilted her head to the side and she turned to Bobby, who could see a pondering look on her face. Natalie leaned closer to him. "I'm gonna go and see if I can get a look at the footage from his workplace." She gave Bobby a quick pat on the shoulder before walking out of the room.

….

"Excuse me." Natalie held up badge once she was standing at the main desk. "I was wondering if you have the security footage from the Starlight Cannery?"

The officer nodded. "Yeah, we managed to get the footage this morning."

"Mind if I take a look at it?" Natalie asked, putting on the best smile as she could.

The officer nodded and motioned her around to the desk and began to type away on the computer until he found the file. "We haven't yet analyzed the footage. That won't be done till later on today."

Natalie nodded and bit down on her lip. "You mind if I just skim through the footage?"

The officer shrug and stood up. "Not at all. Go ahead."

Natalie smiled in thanks as she sat down in the chair, waiting for him to walk away, before clicking play. Speeding up the frames, Natalie for the most part was looking at nothing, just simply trucks turning and then turning out. Watching the frames, Natalie soon saw Rick's truck pull up and she quickly slowed down the speed to normal.

_Rick walked back over to his truck and just as he enters and closes the car door, a young woman steps out and begins to walk towards the car. Standing near the passenger door, the young woman turns and looks up at the camera._

Natalie leaned back slightly when she saw the woman's face. It was grotesque, something that Natalie couldn't really compare to something that was at the forefront of her mind. "That's something you can call a nightmare."

Looking up from the screen, Natalie saw Dean, Sam and Bobby walking out from the hallway and she quickly motioned them over. Sam walked over to Natalie and leaned down next to her, while Bobby and Dean stood behind her, all of them looking at the screen.

"Check this out." Natalie turned to the computer. "I asked for them to bring up the security footage from the cannery and I found this." She backed the footage up, just a couple of seconds, to the entrance of the young woman and paused right as she turned to the camera.

"Whoah." Dean was the first to react to the image. "That looks like the stuff of nightmares. What do you think it is Bobby?"

Bobby moved around to the other side of Natalie and leaned closer to the screen, his eyes narrowing. "I have never seen anything like this before. But, all of those camps and ghouls, most likely they are coming out for Mother's Day."

Natalie casted Bobby a quick glance. "Wait, so you think that this is Eve?"

"Seems like it."

"Well, if that is Eve, we got zero on how to gank her. So what are we gonna do if we run into her? Throw salt and hope it works?" Dean went on to ask.

"No." Bobby turned away from the desk and looked at Dean. "We are gonna turn tail and run, because we're in over our heads with this."

"If we are going to do anything, we need to get as much info on her as we can. That way we can find out how to kill her." Natalie spoke, giving her own input.

The officers in the building began to rush out of the building, causing the four hunters to look around in confusion. "What's going on?" Dean asked one of the passing officers.

"A guy just went postal down at the Cannery."

Bobby turned to them and nodded."Okay, I'll go down there and check it out."

"I'll go with you." Natalie said, as she stood up from the chair.

Bobby looked back at Sam and Dean. "You two stay here and finish up. We'll call when we find out what happened."

* * *

><p>Natalie and Bobby walked towards the group of cop cars that were parked a couple of feet away from the entrance to the cannery. Their eyes scanning over the scene of bodies being taken out of the building.<p>

"Well, now this is the second murder that had to deal with this cannery. What do you think is going on?" Natalie asked.

"Most likely. And whatever it is, I guarantee it has to do with that woman that was with Rick."

Bobby and Natalie walk up to one of the police officers and pulled out their FBI badges. " Agent Willis and my partner Agent Mills." Bobby motioned to Natalie as he placed his badge back in his pocket. "How many in there?"

"Six dead."

Natalie took another look up at the building. "What exactly happened?"

"Apparently, a guy walks in, pulls out a hunting rifle and just opens fire."

"What? There a fed convention in town or something?" A man came up behind the police officer.

Natalie and Bobby, recognizing the person as Rufus, tried their best not to make it noticeable. "Agent Willis? Am I right?"

Bobby gave a quick nod. "Agent. We weren't expecting you...yet."

"Well, apparently you didn't get the call." Rufus commented and then turned to the cop. "Will you please give us a moment?"

Bobby watched as the cop walked away and then the three of them huddled a little closer together. "What in the high holy are you doing here, Rufus?"

"Same as you...tracking." Rufus said with a complete obvious look on his face. "It's all 31 flavors of crazy, which led us all here into the middle of this."

"Is there anyway that we can talk to the guy that this did?" Natalie went on to ask. "Maybe we can get some more information on what it going on here."

"We can try and talk with him." Rufus answered. "But, I'm not sure that he is going to talk back to us."

Natalie ticked her head to the side and gave a quick smirk. "Why not?"

"Well, let's just say that the cops put eight bullets in him so...I don't think he is going to be answering questions anytime soon."

Natalie and Bobby both slowly nodded, understanding what Rufus was hinting at during the first time. "Then what do we do now?" Bobby asked.

"I'm gonna say that we partner up on this. We don't have to make this become rocket science. We're here. Let's do this."

Bobby gave his shrug of approval that was met with Natalie's approving smile. "As long as I get to drive." Bobby commented.

"Hell no."

* * *

><p>The door to the freezer was opened and a slab was pulled out, the blanket that was covering the dead body was pulled back. Bobby, Rufus and Natalie walked closer to the slab, the three of them taking time to scan over the body, familiarizing themselves with the injuries that were relevant on his torso. The nurse that had agreed to show them the body gave the three of them a nod before walking away from the slab.<p>

Rufus took another glance down at the body, his shoulders finally shrugging. "So, what do you think? The mother of whatever might be wrapped in all of this?"

Bobby shrugged and glanced up at them. "Looks like it to me."

Natalie shook her head as she kept her eyes down at the body. "It just doesn't make sense to me. These two men simply went...crazy, I guess you could say. How is that exactly the product of some monster's doing?"

"I don't know Nad. But, that's why we are going to crack him open, see what we can find." Bobby shrugged off his jacket and set it down on one of the spare tables.

Scanning over the body, Bobby looked for anything that was unusual, other than the bullet wounds that had decorated the man's torso, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Making his way back up towards the face, Bobby's eyes narrowed at a slight black ooze that was covering the ear lobe of the deceased man.

"Hey, Nad, hand me one of those swabs behind you." Bobby reached his hand out to her.

Natalie turned quickly, once spotting the swabs, picked one up and quickly handed it over to Bobby. Leaning down till he was leveled with the side of the head, Bobby inserted the swab into the ear and then pulled it out, seeing a blueish-black ooze covering it.

Rufus and Natalie both made a similar disgusted and confused look at the ooze that Bobby had pulled out from the ear of the body.

"What the hell is that?" Natalie questioned, her lips forming into a disgusted frown.

"Is that ecto?" Rufus walked around to the other side where Bobby was to get a better look at the substance. When Bobby offered him the swab, Rufus quickly shook his head but leaned towards it and took a quick sniff. "No. That's not ecto."

"Well, whatever it is, it's something new." Bobby quipped as he examined the swab further. "The only thing we have that is a common element, it's that these two guys worked for the cannery."

Natalie raised her brows as her eyes glanced over at Bobby. "You think Eve might have a thing about guys who work for canneries?"

"There's something about these guys that's got her interested." Bobby said as he placed the swab down on a cloth on the morgue tray.

"Okay, so we have some strange looking ooze from the person's ear. That's all we got to go on from." Natalie commented.

Bobby nodded and pulled the blanket back over the body and pushed the slab back into the freezer and then closed the door. "I say we head over to the cannery and get ready to look for anything else in that place. The boys are gonna need to know."

Natalie pulled out her phone and nodded at Bobby. "I'll call them." Dialing out the number, Natalie walked out of the morgue and put the phone up to her ear.

_"Yeah?" _Sam's voice came through.

"Hey, so, we found something that might be somewhat of a hint for us to go on."

_"What is it?" _

"Well, while we were checking over the body, Bobby was able to find some kind of strange, blueish-black ooze, inside of the ear." Natalie paused and could hear Sam make a noise at the other end. "Yeah, it wasn't the most appealing thing to look at. We don't know what it is, but, it's the only thing that we got."

_"Okay. So, what is the plan next?" _

"Bobby thinks that we should all head over to the cannery and search the place. The only thing that these two guys had in common was where they worked."

_"Okay. Dean and I will meet you two over there." _

"Okay-oh, yeah by the way. We ran into Rufus at the cannery today."

_"Rufus? Really? It's been a while since we saw him." _

"Yeah. It's been a while. But, at least we can have an extra hand. I think we could use all the help we can get on this Eve thing."

_"I'm not gonna argue with you on that. Dean and I will meet you three at the cannery in ten." _

"Okay. See you there." Natalie pulled the phone away and turned back to the morgue and walked in. "They're gonna meet us there."

Bobby nodded and walked over to her, with Rufus trailing behind. "Then let's get to the cannery."

* * *

><p>The door to the cannery was opened and several beams of light shined in as the five hunters entered the building. The place looked like anything kind of cannery, nothing that was to special about this one. But, walking through the main area, Natalie couldn't help but shake at being in this place. Where some lunatic went on a rampage and killed six people. This kind of place, where something like that happened, it's not really somewhere you'd want to be.<p>

The sweep of the main level was quick and actually, fairly easy. Other than a few stacks of various crates, the level was mainly empty. It would've been easy for them to spot anything, if there was anything at least. Figuring that they had cleared the main level, the hunters gathered at the elevator and all filed in.

Natalie watched silently as the gate doors closed and the elevator cables, making a very distinct creaking noise, began to pull them up towards the second level. Seeing as they were coming up to their level, Natalie pulled out her gun and clipped in the ammo, making sure the safety was on, then tucked back in her pant line.

Once the elevator came to a stop, Dean and Sam pulled the door up and they walked out onto the floor, keeping their flashlights off, since there was a decent amount of light that was giving them some kind of clear visual of the place. Towards the back of the level, a pair of doors were visible and the group slowly made their way over to it.

Through the windows of the door, a light suddenly appeared, prompting Dean and Sam to pull out their guns and aimed it up at the source of light. Natalie slowly walked up behind them, making sure her hand was secured on the gun tucked in the back of her pants.

As the doors opened, Sam and Dean clicked their guns and leveled their arms in their aim, but the tension was soon lost when they saw who it was.

"Gwen?" Dean narrowed his eyes.

Gwen gave the group in front of her gave the group in front of her a cautious, yet questioning look. "Dean. Natalie."

Natalie gave Gwen a quick nod, allowing her hand to relax the hold it had on her gun. Though looking behind Gwen, Natalie could feel her whole body go cold at the sight of Samuel. And apparently, Dean saw the same thing.

Dean raised his gun up and walked into the room, aiming his arm up at Samuel. "Welcome to next time."

Sam quickly ran over to Dean and yanked his arm down. "Dean! No. No. Just hold on!"

Dean, after giving his confused and disapproved look, tried to raise his arm again, only to have Sam stop him. "I said that I'd kill!"

"Just wait a second!" Sam repeated himself, hoping to try and calm his brother down.

"I'd take it that you know each other." Rufus commented.

Dean gave Samuel a hardened stare, his jaw clenching at the memory of what he did to him, Sam and Natalie. "He's our grandfather." Dean answered, though there was a distasteful tone in his voice.

Rufus raised his brows and looked back at Samuel. "Oh. Somebody needs a hug."

"Why are you here?" Bobby asked.

"We're working. You?"

"None of your damn business!" Dean retorted.

Bobby walked up to Natalie, gently taking hold of her arm, causing her to look up at him. "Why don't you take Dean out of here?"

Natalie nodded and walked up to Dean, her hand slowly grabbing onto his arm, which caused him to abruptly turn to Natalie, which caught her a little off guard. "Dean, come on. Let's just take a breather."

Dean glanced down at Natalie's hand that was holding onto his arm and then looked back up at Sam, who had a look of approval from what Natalie said. "Are you kidding me?" Dean nearly shouted.

Natalie, instead of letting go, tightened her hold on him and gently pulled him with her. "Come on, Dean. You need to take a moment."

Sam nudged Dean by the shoulder, urging him to follow Natalie and after much hesitation on Dean's part, the three of them finally exited the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Dean called out, not waiting until they were clear from the others.

"Okay, Dean, before you go all out, maybe we should just wait. He might know something that we don't." Sam explained.

"No. Because you don't remember what he did." Dean pointed an accusing finger at Sam. "But, Nad and I do."

"I know, Dean. I'm just saying, let's wait. Just don't kill him yet."

"Sam is right Dean." Natalie finally spoke up. "Trust me, Samuel deserves whatever he's got coming, but right now isn't the best time for you to rid of him. Please, just don't do anything now. Nothing drastic."

Dean breathed out a few heavy breaths, the cluster of rage that was building in his mind, was making to hard for him to think clearly. Looking from his brother and then to Natalie, Dean rubbed at his chin and gave a quick, yet shaky, nod before turning around and walking off down the hall.

Sam and Natalie remained still, not going after him and not calling for him to come back. No matter how badly they might've wanted to. This whole thing that was going on between the boys and Samuel, it was something that each of them had to deal with on their own. Dean's simmering anger towards their grandfather had been quietly growing since their last encounter with him. Mostly, Dean had managed to keep it under wraps, not acting on it, since there was no reason for him to express it.

"We should just let him blow off some steam." Sam turned to the door, but stopped and looked back at Natalie who was standing in place. "Nad?"

Natalie blinked and glanced over at Sam, seeing him motioning her to follow him and she answered with a small nod.

The two of them entered the room, walking up to stand next to Bobby and Rufus, who were holding their own conversation with Samuel. Though, once Sam and Natalie were standing in front of him, Samuel couldn't help but look at both of them. Just by the look on his face, anyone could tell that he was thinking about multiple things.

"Sam. You're looking well." Samuel commented, finally breaking the thick tension that was emanating between them.

"Enough with the small talk." Sam retorted that was then followed by a small scoff.

"You seem a little different." Samuel commented, his eyes narrowing lightly.

"I got my soul back. No thanks to you, I hear."

Samuel slowly glanced over at Natalie, his eyes scanning over her face, and he was able to spot only a few things. Anger, towards him, a level of what looked like some kind of pride not a condescending pride, which Samuel could only guess had to do with Sam getting his soul back, the rest was something he couldn't interpret.

"You hear things. But you don't remember any of it." Samuel spoke, not taking his eyes away from Natalie, both of them trying to stare the other one down into some kind of submission. "So, how'd you manage to get his mangled soul back?"

"Don't talk to her." Sam quickly interrupted, causing Samuel to glare at him. "You have nothing to say to her." Sam added as a more of a warning to him.

Samuel let out a disdained scoff, although he didn't continue a discussion with Natalie, Samuel's gaze slowly turned to her, seeing that the expression on her face hadn't changed at all.

"Well, sorry to break up this little circle of love, but why don't we talk, huh?" Rufus said, coming in-between the tension that was suffocating everyone in the room. "How about you tell us what it is you're hunting?" Rufus said.

Samuel nodded and sighed, as he walked over to one of the desks and sat down on it. "A creature from Purgatory. She calls herself Eve. They call her mother. She was here about 10,000 years ago. Every freak that walks the face of the earth can be traced back to her. And now she's back."

Bobby took in the information and nodded when he found it to be a reasonable explanation. "And how exactly do you know all of that?"

"You don't know half the things that I know, kid." Samuel retorted, with a little to much pride with himself that it made Natalie roll her eyes. "Hell, until recently, you didn't know about us."

"I now know that you'd throw your own kin to hungry ghouls. Not to mention Nad as well. I think I had my fill." Bobby argued back.

Gwen blinked at Bobby's words and moved closer to Samuel, her brows furrowed in questioning. "You did what?"

"Dean lied to the man." Samuel answered.

"Now that is a load of bull right there." Natalie quickly answered. "If you want to know the truth, Gwen, you should go ask Dean yourself."

Gwen nodded, though she kept her gaze on Samuel. "I think I will." Gwen brushed back Natalie and walked out of the door and down the hallway that Dean had taken.

Natalie pursed her lips together, feeling some kind of relief that Gwen would now know the truth. At first, Natalie thought that Gwen knowing that Samuel was working with Crowley, a demon, that would turn off Gwen. Make her realize that the man she was working with, wasn't really the most trustworthy guy to be partners with.

Even from the first time she met him, Natalie was always cautious about Samuel. First off, he was dead and then brought back, that was a red flag for her. And during their job with the whole vampire's nest, Natalie was never keen on the whole idea of Samuel being involved in anything that they did. Every time she was around him, this uneasy feeling would come over her. And after figuring out what he was really doing, Natalie didn't know whether she was surprised or not.

All she was sure about was that after he fed them to Crowley that night, she was completely over any kind of chance of giving him any of her trust. Though, that was actually shot down when they found out he had been working with Crowley the whole time. It all bottles down to the idea that Natalie wants nothing to do with him and she knows Sam and Dean feel the same way.

Though after Gwen left to find Dean, Natalie could feel an uneasy pit form in her stomach and her brows furrowed at the feeling. Turning to look at the exit for a quick second, Natalie turned back to Sam and then walked over to him, nudging him on the arm. "I'm gonna go check on Gwen and Dean."

Sam's nod was her affirmation to go, though she could also read in his eyes that he was telling her to go easy on Dean. Knowing that he was most likely still trying to blow off steam. Natalie gave him a quick smile before exiting the room.

Taking the same way she saw Dean and Gwen go down, Natalie had to walk for only a minute or a few actually, before she began to hear voices filtering out from a room on the right. Finally reaching the entrance, Natalie turned into the room but was stopped at the sudden sharp blast from a gun and the sight of Gwen's body falling backwards.

Natalie's eyes widened as her gaze switched from Gwen's still body to the image of Dean with his gun still pointed towards Gwen. Natalie should have thought better, but she quickly ran over to Gwen's side and dropped to her knees, her hand moving up to pressed against the wound on her upper stomach.

"Oh my god." Natalie vainly whispered and looked down at Gwen's face, seeing that her eyes were becoming still and her chest raises were becoming more faint. "Gwen just hold on." Natalie applied a little more pressure and Gwen began to choke, streams of blood beginning to slide down the side of her mouth. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Just hang in there.

Natalie had almost forgotten about Dean, if he hadn't stepped into her side view and Natalie's body immediately froze. Pulling her hand away from Gwen's wound, Natalie's eyes closed in her own fear, her breathing picking up it's speed. _Come on. Keep it together. _

Opening her eyes and seeing her hand covered in blood, Natalie's gaze slowly looked up at Dean and saw that his aim had lowered though there was no question that she was his next target. Natalie's mouth fell agape when she stared at the gun that was just slightly being aimed at her and she raised her hands up, showing Dean she wasn't going to put up a fight.

"Dean. Dean it's okay. It's going to be fine." Natalie spoke calmly, slowly raising herself back up to her feet, making sure to keep her gaze down from him. Though before she could stand fully up, Dean raised his gun, the aim straightening out and Natalie stopped briefly and raised her hands a little more.

"Dean, wait. Don't do this." Natalie nearly pleaded, allowing herself to look up at him, though she didn't dare to raise her head fully. "Whatever is happening to you...you need to fight it. You need to take control. Fight it. Fight back."

At that, Natalie could feel her stomach turn at the words she had just spoken, as they sparked up a memory she had tried so hard to keep back. Her mind clouded with the emotion she felt during that time, her chest tightening as the words began to flow back into her mind.

_Her body shook from the numbing pain and blood was flowing freely from her wounds, staining her clothes. Legs trembled in place and breathing was starting to become heavy and labored. She reached up and grabbed the arm that held the knife. "S-sam...sam...don't let him do this...sam...don't let him win. T-take...take control...sam...please. Fight Sam...fight him back." _

Natalie was able to bring herself out from that state of remembrance, letting out a shaky breath in an attempt to pull herself together. This was the worst time to allow something like this distract her, especially when a gun was being pointed at her.

"Dean. Don't." Natalie tried again and tempted her faith as she tried to approach him and it proved to have worked, since it didn't really alert him. "Put the gun down Dean. The only way that this can be stopped is if you take back control. You need to fight. Please, Dean."

Dean's expression remained unchanged and with the gun still aimed at her, Natalie didn't know if talking to him was making any kind of difference. If there was any kind of change in his state of mind, it was not becoming relevant whatsoever.

Natalie remained silent, her eyes glued on Dean's still figure, casually allowing them to look back at the gun. After a tense silence, Natalie's hope was dashed, as Dean straightened his aim at her and cocked his gun. Her breath hitched in her throat and her head gave a small shake as another shot went off.

Natalie quickly jumped to the side and ran towards one of the stacks of wooden crates, one of many that were currently in that room. Shots continued to ring off, blowing holes in the crates she was hiding behind and Natalie decided she needed to continue on. Keeping herself bent over, Natalie began to run along behind a row of crates, each time she reached a new stack, another shot would go off, sending wood shards flying into the air.

Reaching the end of her temporary protection, Natalie ran out from behind the crates and made for another room that she spotted at the back. Her heels pounding against the concrete floor and her breaths coming out in painful huffs, Natalie pushed herself to keep running, desperately ignoring the burning sensation she was feeling in her legs.

Just as she reached the entrance, Natalie felt someone collide with her, pushing her farther into the room and shoved her up against the wall, hitting her head in the process. At first dazed and confused from the impact, Natalie blinked her eyes, enabling them to focus, just in time to see Dean throwing a hit at her which she quickly dodged.

Grabbing onto his elbow, Natalie threw a hit to his ribs and the arm she had in her grasp, was thrown upwards, giving her a clear advantage point that was his face. Bringing her fist up, Natalie cut a hit across his face and brought her other arm to throw another hit, but his hand grabbed onto her wrist. Using his other hand, Dean pulled out a knife from his belt line and brought it down to her chest, but Natalie managed to pull both arms in front of her, using them as a way to try and stop Dean was stabbing her.

Natalie pushed her arms against Dean's, feeling his strength beginning to overwhelm her. Dean had always been stronger than her and Sam, in strength and force wise. The fact that she was able to hold him off just barely was currently something that surprised her. The strain that was taking a toll on her arms was weakening her. The push against his attack was becoming weaker and Natalie tried to fortify more strength to use against him.

It wasn't until she looked up, into Dean's eyes, that Natalie could feel a sense of dread wash over her. The expression that she saw was something that she had seen before. Dean's eyes were fixed, hardened and filled with fierce determination. But, there was no emotion. No proof that she could find that would tell her the 'real' Dean was forcing his way back. He was simply empty. It was to familiar.

_Her eyes focused on the face she was so used to seeing adorned with kindness and understanding for every little situation. The one person who she had grown close with, someone she could trust, someone who was the holder of her most intimate emotions, that person was gone. The eyes that were looking back at her possessed nothing but an chilling emptiness. _

Natalie closed her eyes as she allowed the memories to flow back to her, making sure that she kept a even pressure against his arm.

_"You know, Sam...he hasn't stopped thinking about you. Not even one second. You really are special, aren't you?" _

_"I'm sorry that all of this had to happen." _

_"It's all a shame. You know why? Because Sam here...he really cares about you. No scratch that." _

_"He loves you. Plain and simple." _

The words continued to bounce around in Natalie's head, each of them repeating over and over again, mingling into one another. Creating a unison of jumbled voices that were somehow making her head feel like it was being compressed.

_Lucifer glided the blade over her cheek and traced it down the side of her neck. The visual began to play over in her mind. The feel of the cool blade against her skin, her desperate clawing at his arm trying to stop him. That feeling of utter despair and hopelessness and the sense that she wasn't going to make it. And the sadness she felt. That her life was going to be taken away by the hands of someone who she trusted and cared for, but it was all being manipulated. _

_As the knife was raised up, a glare shined off of the blade and just the sight of that caused her blood to go cold. For the moment, the blade combined with the look she saw in his eyes, it all matched perfectly. _

_"He loves you. Plain and simple."_

_Lucifer embedded the knife into her stomach and an intense white pain streamed through her torso and slithered down her legs. The knife was pulled from her stomach, eliciting a sharp groan from her and she felt the knife stab her a second time..._

Natalie's eyes shot open and the first thing she saw was Dean's menacing look. Gathering the strength she had left, Natalie felt a force gather in her throat.

"No!" Her voice came through as a terrified shriek and she pushed Dean away from her.

Dean recovered from the push, but returned his attention back to Natalie and slashed the knife at her, effectively cutting her right cheek. Natalie let out a scream at the sudden cut and felt another hit skim across her face. The impact left a ringing in her right ear and her vision blurred, creating a sense of nausea as she tried to gain back her own senses.

Pushing her back up against the wall, she took in deep breaths, thinking that at any moment Dean would strike at her again, but nothing happened. Blinking a few times, Natalie looked in front of her and then around the area, not seeing Dean anywhere.

Natalie groaned and pressed her hand to the side of her head, feeling a senseless and painful pounding in the area where Dean had punched her before getting away, as it appears to be in this case. From the main room, Natalie could make out only muffled voices that mixed in with the, still present, ringing in her right ear.

_"Dean?! Nad?!"_

Sam's voice ringed through and the rest began to grow clearer, but they seemed to be all over the room, bouncing off the walls, making it seem like they weren't coming from one source. Pushing away from the wall, Natalie stumbled through the entrance and walked along side the different rows of metal shelves that reached almost to the ceiling.

Walking around from behind the last shelf, Natalie could see Rufus and Bobby kneeling down next to Gwen, Samuel was standing a little away from them and Sam had his back turned towards Natalie, his gaze looking down at Gwen.

But, for the moment Natalie's eyes were fixed on Gwen's still body and she came to a stop, her gut forming another pit. "Is she..."

The four men looked up, seeing Natalie, her right cheek still bleeding, her eyes glazed over and a red patch was starting to form on her face where Dean punched her. Sam, upon seeing her and the condition her face was in, and walked over to her.

"Nad. What happened?" Sam turned off his flashlight and tucked it away, since there was some kind of light source in the room.

Though, what she just went through and the memory that it stirred up, Natalie couldn't help but back away from Sam once he got close enough. The act itself caused Sam to stop and his brows furrowed in confusion, seeing her inch away from him like that was something he had never had happened before.

"Nad. It's okay." Sam, remembering that he still had it out, stashed his gun away, thinking that by doing so it would help calm whatever nerves she was feeling.

He raised his hand out to her, showing that he wasn't going to harm her, though he couldn't help but feel off about doing that. Natalie was always trusting of him, never scared of him, no matter what. Therefore, showing this kind of assurance, showing he meant no harm, it was unsettling for him.

Natalie flinched at the feeling of his hand touching her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at Sam, her eyes were still fixed on Gwen's body and the image of Dean shooting her was repeating over again in her mind. "She's...she's dead, isn't she?"

Sam pursed his lips at Natalie's words and glanced back at the body before turning back to Natalie and stepping in front of her view, so that she could no longer look at it. "Nad. Hey."

Sam kept his eyes on her, finding that her expression was to still and he couldn't help but feel conflicted about it. Natalie has been on plenty of hunts, seen things that probably she shouldn't have. Does that mean he thinks she should be used to it? No, of course not. But, this, what he was looking at right now was shock. Something that seemed to be numbing her to the very core.

"Nad. Hey, you need to focus. Did Dean do this to you?" Sam asked as he took hold of Natalie's arm and was finally granted a quick glance from her. And even though it was a quick look, Sam could the answer from her eyes and his jaw clenched.

Letting out a sigh, Sam slowly nodded and then turned to look at Bobby, who was standing behind him viewing both him and Natalie with a curious look. He had heard Sam's question and he saw Natalie's reaction. He didn't need more to go on from "I'm gonna get Nad out of here. Try and figure out what happened."

"Yeah. Get the cheek cleaned up too. We'll take care of Gwen's body and I'll try and go find Dean."

Sam nodded and turned back to Natalie. "Come on, Nad."

Natalie looked up fully at Sam and blinked a couple of times, allowing herself to be escorted out by Sam. And even though he tried to block her view, Natalie was able to sneak one last glance of Gwen and Natalie couldn't help herself...she was feeling that same guilt returning, and it was starting to eat away at her.

* * *

><p>Natalie walked into the room, looked more like a locker room to her, and her eyes scanned over the area quickly. It didn't pose as an interest to her. Instead, Natalie walked over to one of the tables in the center of the room and sat down on it, her attention going immediately to the dried blood on her hands.<p>

Sam had been observing her silently, watching how she held herself, how she moved and walked. The way she looked around the room, almost like she was in some kind of daze. Spotting the blood on her hands, Sam walked over to a sink on the other side of the room and ran a clean rag under the water. After squeezing the excess water out, Sam unraveled the rag and folded it twice as he walked back over to her. Reaching for her one of her hands, Sam held it in his palm and went to wipe at the blood when Natalie slowly pulled her hand from his grasp. Looking up at her, Sam saw that she was purposely ignoring his gaze and instead, Natalie took the rag from Sam and numbly wiped off the blood.

Natalie kept her gaze down, watching as she worked off the dried substance from her hands, feeling very uncomfortable with Sam just staring at her. Usually, she wouldn't feel like this, right now she felt her body grow heavy and her heart felt like it was pounding against her chest. But, she wasn't stupid. Natalie knew exactly why she was feeling this way.

That all altercation with Dean sparked up a memory Natalie worked immensely hard at to rid of. Of course, that kind of memory isn't one you can just do away with. It stays with you and with Natalie, it was seared into her mind. Though, she was able to push to the far recesses of her mind and it would only appear occasionally. But, it would be quick scenes, brief flashes about what happened that day. What happened when she was fighting with Dean, it was a whole remembrance, an occurrence in which Natalie relived it to the fullest detail. It felt like she was there again, having Lucifer hold her down while he did whatever he wanted to her.

But, it wasn't just the actions that was bothering her the most, the words that were spoken to her that day. They had become so distant from her during the past year as she tried to move on from everything, she had almost forgotten how she felt when she thought about it.

_"He loves you." _

Natalie gave a quick flinch as the words hit her again and it didn't go unnoticed by Sam. He reached for the rag and took it from her and proceeded to unfold the rag only to fold it again, this time on the side that wasn't already stained. Placing a few fingers under her chin, Sam gently tilted her head up, until she was facing him, seeing her eyes finally meeting his as he began to wipe at the cut on her cheek.

"You want to tell me what happened?" Sam finally spoke, finishing up the last of the dried blood on her cheek, he then set the rag down on the table beside Natalie.

Natalie's gaze fell, silently missing his touch, but made sure not to make a scene about it. Her hands found their way to her face and she slowly washed them down and looked back up at him.

"I, uh." Natalie paused and swallowed, her throat sore and scratchy from her scream earlier, it made it feel like she hasn't talked in months. "I went to see Gwen and Dean...just because, I don't know why. And when I got there...Dean shot her. Just right there. A-and when I tried helping her...I knew Dean was going to go after me next. And being the idiot that I am, I thought that talking to him would do something, but of course it didn't."

Natalie scoffed to herself, allowing her hands to wring together to help alleviate some of the tension she was feeling. "Anyways. It didn't work and Dean tried to shoot me, but...I was able to hide behind those crates. And then I just ran. I didn't know where, I knew I just needed to get away. But, he followed me and we...fought." Natalie shrugged off the end of her statement.

"So, Dean did that to you? While you two were fighting with each other." Sam gently ran his thumb over the cut.

Natalie's eyes closed briefly as she nodded. "There's something wrong with him Sam. There was this look in his eyes...something I hadn't seen since..." Natalie stopped and closed her mouth, mentally relieved that she was able to stop herself.

"Since what?" Sam asked, demolishing Natalie's hope of not having to talk about it.

"Since, um...the whole thing with...Lucifer." Natalie stopped when she saw the look on Sam's face and she nodded to him, she didn't need to go any further with that topic.

"We haven't talked about that." Sam stated quietly.

"And we don't need to. Not right now." Natalie said, making it final that there was no way for them to discuss this any further. "Gwen is dead. And Dean is...not Dean. There is no time for talking about other things."

Sam nodded his agreement, even though he would have wanted to argue otherwise, right now something happened to Dean that made him kill Gwen and nearly kill Natalie. Whatever it was that was affecting Dean, it must have also affected the other men who went on their own rampages.

Sam picked up the rag from the table and gazed up at Natalie, seeing a pensive look on her face, knowing she was still thinking about it. "What is it?"

"It's just...Dean shot Gwen, right in front of me. And I couldn't help her. I mean I hardly knew her at all, but...someone else was killed in front of me...and I was unable to stop it or help."

Sam looked down at the rag in his hands and licked at his lips. "Nad. If you think that you are to blame, don't think-"

"I know." Natalie quickly interrupted, turning her head away from him. "But, that's the kind of person I am. I always blame myself for everything. And you can tell me not to feel guilty. But I saw her get shot. I had her blood on my hands." Pursing her lips together, Natalie broke her gaze from Sam and ran a hand down the side of her face.

Sam was at lost for words, not knowing what he could say that would make her believe that none of this should call for her to feel guilty. She shouldn't feel that way. What happened was something that she couldn't have stopped. It wasn't her fault. But, unfortunately, Natalie was telling the truth, when it came to blaming oneself. It was a quality about her that Sam found in himself and in Dean as well. Blaming yourself when something happens, something that you witnessed or was close by.

Natalie leaned her elbows on her knees and buried her face against her hands. She actually felt exhausted, not just mentally, physically as well. The cut on her cheek still burned and the bruise on her face was throbbing in a slow rhythm. She could hear Sam walking around, mostly likely to put the rag back at the sink.

"We managed to find him."

Natalie looked up at the sound of Bobby's voice and saw him enter the room along with Rufus, Samuel and Dean. Her expression went tense when Dean's eyes found her and instead of seeing that coldness, she saw the familiarity in them and she felt her body slump in ease.

Sam turned from the sink to look at his brother. "Where was he?"

"In a completely different room towards the farther end of the building. Found him wielding a gun at Rufus and Samuel." Bobby quickly explained as he walked over to Natalie. "Give me your gun."

Natalie gave Bobby a look, as if he had asked something insane. "What?"

"Give me your gun. Trust me on this. We can't be to trusting of anyone right now."

Natalie gave Bobby a look, but pulled out her gun and handed it to Bobby, who put it in a bag and walked over to an empty locker.

Natalie then eyed Dean silently, seeing that he was beating over himself for what happened, no doubt he knew about what happened to Gwen. "You okay?" Natalie finally asked.

Dean took in a breath and his hands began to twitch faintly. Bobby had told him when they found him, what happened to Gwen and that he did something to Natalie. Bobby didn't know the full details, but judging by the condition of her face, Dean knew he roughed her up pretty good.

"I'm not okay." Dean admitted and Natalie gave him a small smile, encouraging him to move closer, which he did with hesitation. Dean walked over to the table and leaned against it next to her.

"What happened?" Natalie asked, turning herself fully around so it would be easier to look at him.

"All I remember was that I was talking to Gwen and then...I woke up on the ground and this..." Dean paused his expression turning into something of disgust as he remembered the moment. "This thing worm thing was crawling out of my ear."

Natalie cringed in disgust and hummed in her distaste. "That must have been a crazy thing to wake up to."

"You have no idea." Dean huffed out a breath and folded his arms over his chest. His lips pursed together as he looked over at Natalie. "Hey, Nad. About what happened..."

Natalie turned her head away from him and she shook her head. "Dean, no. You don't have to say anything about it."

"No, I do. I'm sorry you had to see that and I'm sorry for...whatever it was that I did to you. Judging by that cut and that bruise that's forming, I wasn't to nice."

Natalie let out a faint laugh at Dean's words and ran a hand through her hair. _You have no idea. _"Dean. It's fine. It wasn't you and I knew that there was something wrong. You don't have to apologize for something that was out of your control."

"No. I should've been able to stop it somehow. Not only did I hurt you...but, I killed Gwen."

Glancing over at him, Natalie could see the painful guilt eating away at him and she pursed her lips together. Then she gave him a quick small nudge against his arm. "Dean. It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing that some kind of thing would jump you and take control. None of this was your fault."

Although, Natalie couldn't help but cringe at her own words, thinking back on what she told Sam before the others got here. Told him how she felt guilty for what happened and how she as beginning to put some of the blame on herself. _I'm such a hypocrite. _Looking at Dean, Natalie could see that her words had only a little affect on him and instead, she settled for gently rubbing his arm.

"Okay. We need to take a moment to gather ourselves and come up with a plan." Bobby said, garnering everyone's attention.

"And what exactly is the plan? What are we going to base it off of?" Samuel asked.

"As of right now, we got literally nothing." Bobby bit back. "That's why I'm gonna make a few calls, see if anyone has heard of this kind of thing before."

Natalie furrowed her brows as she took out her phone. "I might at as call Aunt Clara. See if she knows anything."

Turning to look at Dean, she gave him a look, seeming to ask if he will be okay and she was only met with a nod. Giving his shoulder one last rub, Natalie stood up from the table and dialed out the number before placing the phone up to her ear.

_"Yeah, Nad." _

"Hey, okay, so we've run into a little bit of a situation here."

_"What's wrong?" _

Natalie bit down on her lip at hearing the concern in Clara's voice. She should've been more careful with how she just presented that to her. "Nothing is to serious. Bobby, Dean, Sam and I were working on a case about these two guys who went mental, one of them killed his whole family and the other killed six of his co-workers."

_"Okay. That doesn't sound like much of a job to me. Just two guys who lost their minds."_

"Right. Well, when Bobby and I went to view one of the bodies, Bobby found this odd looking ooze coming from the ear. Then we came to the cannery, where both men worked at, and something happened to Dean." Natalie looked back at him, making sure he hadn't heard and made a conscious reminder to keep her voice down.

"He killed Gwen, you don't know who she is I'll have to explain that later, but he wasn't himself. Then when Bobby found him he said that he saw this worm thing crawl out of his ear."

Clara made a noise from the other end. _"A worm crawling out of his ear? What the hell?" _

"I know it's weird. But, Samuel said that hunting down Eve and then this pops up. And I was just wondering if you've heard anything about this kind of...creature, I guess if you want to call it that."

_"Nad. I'm just as stumped as you all are, I've never heard of anything like that. Did Dean know that this thing was in him?" _

"No. He remembered talking with Gwen and then nothing after that. The next thing he remembered was waking up on the floor."

_"It sounds more of a parasitic creature than anything else. But, I've never heard of something like that. And you guys know for sure that it has something to do with Eve?" _

"Well, we aren't sure about that. I mean for the past few weeks Bobby had been getting calls about multiple sightings of vampires, werewolves and a lot of other things in different states. And it all just started because this Mother of All thing came to light. I don't know, it might be connected to Eve in some way."

_"If it is connected with Eve, then that will be the most understandable reasoning for this. I would call David, but I doubt that he would have any kind of clue as to what it could be." _

Natalie nodded and watched out the side of her view as Sam and Dean followed Samuel out of the room. Despite the urge to follow them, Natalie stayed in her spot, deciding to pull back and help Bobby and Rufus with this.

"Well, I think Bobby will probably try and call David."

_"Well, I'm down in the study, reading through some things, thinking I might've missed something. But, Nad, I don't think this is something that has been encountered before. Either it's new or it's been able to hide away for a very long time." _

"I mean the whole concept of what this thing is, it's kinda familiar. I mean taking over a host, almost kinda sounds like a possession, if you think about. I mean possession is about an entirely different soul taking over. With this, it's the same person, but just, their minds are being manipulated."

Natalie looked over at Bobby and Rufus, seeing that they were getting into a little bit of a heated discussion. As Clara continued through her searching, Natalie couldn't help but pick up on bits of the conversation between Bobby and Rufus.

_"Okay, plan B. Let's just go and grab the thing." _

_"And then what, exactly?" _

_"Well, we sit on our thumbs, or we go in guns blazing." _

_"Like Omaha?" _

_"You know what? Screw you for bringing up Omaha. That's just low." _

Natalie purse her lips and turned away from them and focused herself back on Clara. "You find anything that might be useful?"

_"Nothing, Nad. I'm afraid that you all are on your own with this." _

Natalie hung her head back and blew out a sigh, figuring that's what Clara's answer would've been. "Okay. That's what I thought. Thanks anyway Aunt Clara."

_"Let me know if there's anything else I can do." _

"Will do. Bye." Natalie pulled the phone away from her ear and ended the call. Just then a loud blast resonated from somewhere in the building, sparking the three hunter's attention.

Natalie looked over at Bobby, remembering that Sam and Dean had followed Samuel not to long ago and her eyes widened at the thought.

"We're gonna need our guns." Bobby remarked as he quickly turned to the locker and broke the lock open. Pulling the bag out he grabbed Natalie's gun and quickly handed it over to her and handed Rufus his.

"Hey, you don't have to feel bad about this." Rufus began as he checked over his gun. "It was a good plan. Except for the part where a monster would never give up all of his weapons."

Bobby looked at Rufus and gave him a look. "Oh, shut up."

Natalie turned away from them and checked her ammo clip before clicking it back in place and looking up she saw Sam and Dean enter the room. "What happened?"

"Samuel is what happened." Dean commented. "We lost him though."

"So, when what do we do?" Bobby asked as he pulled his gun out of the bag.

"We stick together and make sure that we all keep track of this thing. And who exactly it's occupying." Dean answered. "Right now, we need to find Samuel before he finds us."

* * *

><p>Sam and Natalie snuck around the corner and shined their lights into the dark room, scanning over the immediate area in front of them before taking small and steady steps in. With Dean, Bobby and Rufus trailing behind them, Sam and Natalie quickened their pace only just a little, shining their flashlights in different directions.<p>

Natalie went a little ahead of the rest of them, focusing her light on the hallway in front of her when an arm snaked around her waist and quickly pulled her back. Looking over she could see Sam looking down in front of her on the ground and she followed his gaze.

His light was shining down on a wire that was stretched across in front of them and Natalie couldn't help but let out a relieved breath. _Good thing Sam has a sharp eye._

"Watch your step." Sam said to the rest of them as he carefully stepped over the wire.

Natalie stepped one foot over and then brought the other over and looked back at the others briefly to make sure they were following. Reaching the end of a cramp hallway, they came to an opening that led to another long hallway, leading somewhere they had no idea of.

Sam looked back at them and motioned for the clear and stepped through the opening. Natalie stepped up to the opening and began to walk through when a loud rumbling appeared and a hand grabbed her from the back of her coat and yanked her back. She stumbled back into Dean, who was the one that had pulled her and she watched as the door closed with immense force.

Natalie looked up at Dean who looked down at her before walking over to the door and tries to open it, but is unable to. "Sam!" Dean yelled.

"Dean! Hey it's okay! I'm fine!" Sam's voice came through. "I'm gonna go around, okay? I'll meet you guys there."

"Okay. Be careful." Dean turned to the others and nodded. "Let's go."

Natalie pursed her lips but followed Dean down another small hallway that was connected to the one they were standing it. The entrance, that was now blocked off due to the door being close, led them to a different section of the building. They had to try and find another way around through the area they were already in.

The corridor they were walking through was longer than they had anticipated and it was small too. Most of the time spent crouched down as they walked, creating a massive discomfort in their backs and legs. Not to mention that it was dark and they had no way of knowing how much longer they were going to have to walk through this.

Dean finally spotted a light source coming up and he motioned for them to pick up the pace. Reaching the opening, Dean poked his head out and looked left and right, finding that they were at another hallway, but it seemed to hold the same look as the one Sam got to before they were separated.

The four hunters stepped out, each of them shining their lights down both ends of the corridor, contemplating which way they should go.

"Should we try and split up?" Natalie asked Dean who was quick to shake his head. "Didn't think so." She added at the end. A blast from the left end of the hallway caught their attention and without thinking, both Natalie and Dean took off running towards the source, despite Bobby's calls for them to wait.

Natalie and Dean continued their running and it was almost in the same sync, their heels pounding against the damp concrete and only a few times did they run through a small puddle that sent water everywhere, even to the point that it soaked the bottoms of their jeans. But, the condition of their jeans was not on their mind. It was a single blast and both of them were trying to keep the sound clear in their minds and try to map out a mental guide as to where the source would be.

As they reached the center of the hallway, Dean and Natalie could see an entrance to a room on the right hand side appear and they picked up their running.

"Sam!" Dean called out as they both turned into the room and saw Sam standing near Samuel's body. "Sam."

Sam turned to them, his chest heaving and his face filled with bewilderment as to what just happened. Bobby and Rufus came running into the room not to long after and Bobby breathed out in relief.

"Thank god you're fine." Bobby stopped when he saw Samuel's body lying on the ground and he looked up at Sam, warily. "Sam. Put the gun down."

Sam looked down at the weapon in his hand and then slowly placed it on the ground. "It's me. You don't have to worry."

"Sam. Listen." Rufus stepped forward into the room, past Dean and Natalie, and pulled out handcuffs. "We're gonna have to cuff you. Until we can be sure, alright?"

"It's in him." Sam quickly gestured to Samuel.

"Are you sure?" Bobby asked.

Sam thought on it for a moment, the hesitation evident in his eyes. "I think so."

"Did you see anything come out of him after he...you know, dropped?" Rufus asked.

Sam furrowed his brows as he looked back down at Samuel's body and then he began to shake his head. "I don't know."

...

Dean tapped his finger against his arm as he watched Bobby use the swab to check for ooze in Samuel's ear. Natalie was standing just a little bit behind Dean with Sam, still cuffed, standing next to her.

"Please tell me you have something." Dean said as he rubbed the side of his face.

Bobby leaned away from Samuel and held up the swab, showing that it was clean. "Nothing."

"So, what? You're saying that he wasn't a monster when I...ganked him?" Sam asked.

"There's only one way to find out." Rufus spoke up. "Bobby do you still have that cranial saw in the car?"

"Of course I do." Bobby answered as he picked up his coat.

"You're not going alone though." Dean quickly interrupted.

"Oh he won't. Trust me." Rufus said. "We're both going to get some of the tools and maybe even try and get the power up in this place. And I want you and you-" Rufus pointed between Sam and Dean, then paused. "Okay, I want you and you to watch him and him...all right, you know what, the three of you just watch each other."

Rufus and Bobby quickly exited the room leaving the three hunters in silence and to simmer in their own thoughts.

"What you did was the right thing to do. You know that right?" Dean finally said as he turned to look at Sam.

"The right thing? For all I know he wasn't being controlled by that thing Dean." Sam pulled at the cuffs and then dropped his arms.

"We won't know that for sure until they crack open his head. So until then, I'm just gonna assume that he's the crazy one and you're just you."

"I don't know Dean, it's just what he said to me. I mean, I barely even remember him or anything that I did with him...but, what I do remember, none of it is good."

Dean gave Sam a brief look. "I didn't think most of it would be good."

Sam sighed and shrugged. "I just think about you know, family, and how important that is."

"Samuel may have been blood, but that's not what defines someone as family. That's something you have to earn." Dean answered as he make a quick glance over to Natalie.

Sam looked over at Natalie, who gave both of them a brief smile, putting her own agreement on Dean's side. "Yeah. Guess you're right." Sam finally said.

The lights in the room switched on and Rufus and Bobby entered the room with the equipment in hand. Rufus walked over to the table where Samuel's body was lying and Bobby turned to Sam, Natalie and Dean.

"You might want to just take a breather for this. We're about to crack open your grandfather's head boys. You don't need to see this."

Dean and Sam both nodded and walked out of the room with Natalie trailing behind them. Just as they walked out, Bobby closed the door behind them, to try and block most of the view inside. Natalie stood on the side of the door and leaned her back against the wall before blowing out a sigh.

"How's the face doing?" Sam asked as he motioned at his own.

Natalie smirked and shrugged. "Still relatively new." She responded and then turned her bruised cheek to Sam. "How's it looking?"

"It's getting a little darker." Sam replied and looked over at Dean, who looked even more guilty than before.

Natalie saw this and pursed her lips. "It's fine. It is just a bruise. I mean if you two recall, I've had worse injuries than this." She finished with a gesture to her face.

The sound of the saw being turned on caused Natalie to shiver and she kept her gaze focused in front of her, hoping that the noise would be over with quick. Saws were something that she had never been fond of. Not after she went through one of those haunted houses for Halloween, thanks to Andrew convincing her to go and Natalie felt it was the biggest mistake of her life. One of the actors thought it would be a good idea to chase a young teenage girl around in the dark with a chainsaw. Andrew found it entertaining, of course why wouldn't he. Needless to say, Natalie never went to another haunted house again and thanks to that man, she developed a strong dislike for saws no matter how big or small.

Still, as she stood there thinking back on it, Natalie couldn't help but smile and ultimately laugh at the memory. Sam and Dean both gazed at her curiously, since she just started laughing for no reason and that combined with the fact that Bobby was in the room, sawing Samuel's head open, they were a little more than curious.

"What are you laughing at?" Dean asked.

Natalie looked up at the brothers and covered her mouth before shaking her head. "Sorry. It's nothing, just...thinking about something that's all."

A loud crash from the room alerted them and they all hovered at the door, looking in through the window, seeing that Samuel was now attacking Bobby and Rufus. Dean tried opening the door, but saw that there was something wedge between the handles. Looking over at Sam, they both nodded to each other and Sam motioned Natalie back.

Sam and Dean stood equal lengths away from the door and then both kicked at the doors. They lined themselves up once again and kicked at the door, seeing that they almost had the door open. Lining up their aim, Sam and Dean raised their legs and kicked at the door with all the force they could conjure and the door flung wide open. The three of them quickly darted in, just enough time to see Samuel jolting with electricity before finally slumping down.

Natalie ran over to Bobby and grabbed his arms, trying to pull him up. "Bobby? You okay?" Natalie only received a grunt from Bobby, but continued to pull him up to his feet regardless.

"Well, I know this can't be my afterlife, because you all are here." Rufus commented as Sam helped him up to his feet. "What happened?"

"Simple form. We left, Samuel was dead on the table." Sam explained.

"Yeah, till he wasn't." Bobby commented as he looked down at the body slumped up against one of the wooden beams.

"So how did he get double dead?" Rufus asked.

"Well, Samuel was thrown against that." Dean pointed to a electrical box. "I guess ti was a live wire. It shorted and we went ape. Then that thing crawled out of his ear."

"Well, at least we know what tickles it. Electricity." Bobby said.

Natalie looked around at the floor and nodded. "Okay. Now we know what it hates...where is the damn thing?"

Sam looked around the area on the ground before looking over at Rufus and Bobby. "Well, you two were down for the count."

"Either it bailed or it's in either one of you." Dean pointed at them.

"Or it's in one of you." Rufus retorted.

Dean gave him a look as he shook his head. "No. We were awake the whole time."

"Did you three have your eyes on each other?" Rufus went on to question.

"Of course we did, 100 perc-well, depending on what you define as 100 percent." Rufus gave Dean a look and Natalie bit down on her lip.

"Okay, how about, uh we all check for goo?" Sam suggested. The five hunters stick a finger in their ears and pulled them out, none of them having goo on them.

"It might just be gone." Bobby said.

Dean shook his head. "No. I'm betting that the thing wised up and covered its damn trail."

Sam nodded and then turned to the electrical box. "There's only one way to settle this." He pulled at one of the wires and yanked it out, causing the others to stare at him with a wary look. "This thing hates electricity, so we test it."

Sam turned to Samuel's body and stuck the wire to his chest, causing the body to start jolting violently from the electricity pulsing through his body. Sam pulled the wire away, all of them waiting to see if anything would come slithering out. Nothing.

"Okay, I'm gonna call this one then." Rufus said.

Sam turned to the group and huffed out a breath. "Okay. Who wants to go first?"

Dean pursed his lips to the side as he eyed the wiring in Sam's hand and then nodded in his relent. "Alright, come on." Dean pulled up the sleeve to his shirt and held his arm out.

Sam gave Dean a look and held the wire above his arm. "Are you sure?"

Dean vigorously nodded his head. "Hurry up before I start thinking-" Dean was cut off as an intense pain circulated through his arm. His face scrunched up and he bit down on his lip in an effort to hold back any painful cries.

Sam quickly pulled the wire away and Dean began to shake his arm and took a few steps to try and walk off the pain. "Son of a...okay." Dean huffed out a breath and sniffed. "You want me to-"

Sam shook his head and placed the wire against his forearm, electricity crackling and smoke began to form. His jaw clenched together as he strained back his painful groans and then pulled the wire away.

Natalie had been watching the scene her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. A part of her thought that this was crazy, but it was the things weakness. But, to allow herself to get electrocuted. Sam turned to Natalie and she huffed out a breath. "Okay, then." Natalie pulled up her sleeve and held her arm out, but she could see Sam was hesitant. "No. Come on. Everyone needs to do it. Let's-"

Natalie sucked in a breath and closed her eyes as Sam pressed the wire against her arm. The pain was something that she couldn't describe. It made her feel dizzy and almost sick to her stomach. Natalie let out a strained groan just as Sam pulled the wire away. Her hand covered the area that had been impacted and she breathed out a heavy huff. "Shit."

Dean gestured for Sam to relinquish the cable and he did so and Dean turned to Rufus. "Alright. Let's go."

Rufus raised his hands and stepped away slightly. "Whoa. Uh, no. I'm sorry."

"No, Rufus, come on. No passes." Dean reasoned.

"I just got a damn pacemaker." Rufus said, trying to put up his argument.

Dean shrugged. "Well, then you better hope that thing is working."

Rufus sighed and hesitantly held his arm out. "Alright, just make it quick." Dean placed the cable on his arm and Rufus was the only one who didn't hold back how he was feeling. "God! Damn it!" He called out in a strained voice and Dean quickly pulled it away.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

Rufus looked up at him and scoffed. "No I'm not okay. Just give that to me." Rufus took the cable from Dean and then turned to Bobby.

"Well, guess it's my turn. It ain't inside me so just go right ahead."

Rufus eyed Bobby curiously, seeing that by the look on his face he was nervous and maybe even a little antsy. "All right, then just stand still, Bobby. I'll make this quick."

Bobby shrugged. "Okay, sure. Oh and Rufus just one more thing."

Bobby pulls out a knife and quickly stabs Rufus in the chest. Natalie stumbles back from the scene as Sam grabs a hold of Rufus before he could fall to the ground. Natalie looked up at Bobby, seeing he was ready to attack Sam and she quickly took hold of his arm and then jumped up on his back, her other arm snaking around his neck. Natalie kept her grip on Bobby's wrist as he began to thrash about, trying to throw Natalie off him, which only prompted her to wrap her legs around him, securing her stance on him.

"Bobby! Stop!" Natalie called out, tightening her hold on his neck.

Bobby swung them to the side, ramming Natalie into one of the wooden beams and then backed them up into one of the lockers, of course Natalie took the entire brunt. Her side throbbed and her back began to ache from the impact. Bobby rammed back into the locker again, this time the causing Natalie's head to slam back against the metal and her hold on him immediately loosened. Turning around, Bobby grabbed Natalie by the shoulders and threw her across the room, her body slammed against the wall before falling to the ground.

Natalie rolled up onto her hands and knees and pushed herself back up to her feet. Bobby quickly advanced towards her, his knife still in his hand and he raised his arm up only to have Natalie grab onto his wrist. She kicked Bobby in the shin, causing him to drop to his knees and then she brought her fist up and threw a punch across his face.

Standing over Bobby, Natalie looked up at Dean and Sam who were both eyeing the scene around them. Her eyes gazed over at Rufus and she knew that he was dead. Natalie sighed and leaned against the wall, her hand pressing against the back of her head.

* * *

><p>Bobby slowly woke up and tried to move, only to find that he had been taped to one of the chairs. Looking up, he saw the three hunters standing in front of him, though, Dean had a small smirk on his lips.<p>

"Well, look at that. The little herpe is finally awake."

Sam gave Dean a look. "Why are you talking about herpes?"

Dean looked back at Sam. "What? I just- shut up." He gave Sam one last look before turning back to Bobby. "Now, don't you even think about shagging ass out of here, because we got every crack in this room sealed. So you better get comfy,"

Bobby lazily tilted his head as he smirked at Dean. "I am comfy. It's nice in here. And you three really love this guy, don't you? If you kill me, you'll have to kill him. And haven't you lost enough pals for today?"

"We'll do what we have to do." Dean answered as he pulled a chair up and sat down in front of him. "And we got some questions for you, so you can either play ball, or we could fry up a little shrimp."

"Well, it's about damn time. Been waiting for you to ask."

Dean furrowed his brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I got nothing to hide." Bobby answered.

"Okay." Sam walked towards Bobby and folded his arms over his chest. "What are you exactly?"

"You haven't got a name for me yet. I'm new around here. Eve cooked me up herself."

Dean stood up from the chair and placed the cable to the back of Bobby's neck. "Who is she, this Eve bitch?" Dean questioned and held the cable in place for only a moment longer before pulling it away.

"The mother of all of us and the end of all of you. By the time she's done, there'll be more creatures than humans. You'll live in pens. We'll serve your young and call it veal."

"Okay then." Natalie stood up from the table where she was sitting and stood in front of Bobby. "Eve wants to try and take over everything, right? Then why in the hell would she create a whole new species of monster, so that you could just hijack some truckers? What is that gonna do for her?"

Bobby grinned at Natalie and let out a laugh. "You honestly think I'm here just to mess with some truckers. We led you here."

Natalie narrowed her eyes. "And why is that?"

"Eve has a message for all of you." Bobby looked between the three hunters. "You're all gonna die. She's pissed. She's here. And it's gonna be nothing but pain for you three from here on in." Bobby finished by staring directly at Natalie and she began to feel completely uneasy by his words.

"What do you mean by pain?" Natalie asked nervously. "What's going to happen to us?"

At this, Bobby's grin grew and he let out a cackle to go along with it. "You'll have to wait and see for yourself."

Natalie's eyes widened at his words and her breathing grew labored and uneven and it didn't go unnoticed by Sam and Dean.

"Well, here's my response to that." Dean held the cable to Bobby's neck again but this time kept it there longer than he had before.

Sam switched his gaze from Bobby to Dean before stopping him, "Dean. How much more do you think he can take?"

"You can't kill me, not without killing him." Bobby spoke up.

Dean leaned down until he was at eye level with Bobby. "Well...we'll just have to do what Bobby would want us to do." Dean leaned back up and nodded at Sam, who then taped Bobby's mouth and ears shut.

"There's no way out slug. Bobby, just hang in there." Dean took in a breath and then pressed the cable against Bobby's neck.

Natalie watched, her arms over her chest, as Bobby shook in his seat and black ooze began to seep from his ears and nose. His screams were muffled, but that didn't mean it was hard for her to listen to them. Pressing her hand up to her mouth, Natalie had to force herself to remain calm and quiet. Despite the fact that this wasn't Bobby, he was still in there and he was having to endure this.

By this point, Bobby's face was turning red and the ooze began to seep out and his screams were becoming more intense. Natalie then stepped forward and looked over at Dean.

"Dean. Dean! I think that's enough." Natalie looked at Dean, seeing that he wasn't letting up from the treatment and she stepped a little closer. "Dean! Dean! That's enough!"

"He can handle it Nad! It's Bobby." Dean called out, keeping the cable pressed against his neck.

Natalie's eyes widened as she looked down at Bobby. "Dean...stop it! That's enough!" When she saw that Dean was showing no motive to stop, Natalie went to reach for the cable when Sam took her by the arm and moved her away from Bobby.

Looking up, Natalie could see Sam shake his head at her and she could only answer with a confused look. Natalie looked past Sam, back at Bobby, seeing that he was getting worse and she felt Sam put his arm around her, forbidding her from moving forward. Instead, Natalie's face scrunched up and she quickly buried her face against Sam's chest and his arm around her tightened. Raising her hands up to her ears, Natalie then pressed down, hoping to try and block out the sounds of Bobby's screams.

* * *

><p>Natalie looked down at the freshly buried grave, her lips pursing together as she felt Sam gently rub at her back.<p>

"I got to say, never thought of Rufus being the religious type." Dean finally spoke up.

"Well, he didn't exactly keep kosher. He always used to pull the old 'can't work on the Sabbath card whenever we had to bury a body." Bobby answered, keeping a solemn glance down at the grave. "You know, I was just a job. I was Joe mechanic. Then my wife got possessed...went nuts on me. I stabbed her and that didn't do a thing. Next thing I knew, this guy comes busting in, soaks her with holy water, and sends that demon straight to hell so fast. I'd have gone away for killing her. But...Rufus cleaned up everything. Taught me a thing or two about what's really out there. Pretty soon, we were riding together .Worked like that for years, kind of like you guys."

Natalie looked over at Bobby and hooked her arm with his and gave his arm a few rubs. "So, what exactly happened?"

"It was in Omaha. It was my fault and he never let it go."

Dean shook his head. "Well, he should have."

"You don't know what I did there Dean." Bobby warned.

"Doesn't matter." Dean shrugged off Bobby's words. "I mean at the end of the day, you two are family. Life's short, and ours are shorter than most. We're gonna spend it wringing our hands? Something's gonna get us eventually, and then my guts get ripped out, just so you three know, we're good. Blanket apology for all the crap anybody's done."

"We've all pulled crap though Dean. A lot of it actually." Sam commented.

"Well, then it could be a clean slat. Try and start over then." Dean gave Bobby a quick pat on the shoulder before turning to walk back towards the Impala.

Sam did the same, a quick pat on Bobby's back before walking away, but stopped halfway and looked back seeing that Natalie was still standing next to Bobby. Natalie looked up at Bobby and gave him a nudge, waiting for him to look at her.

"This might be a stupid question but, will you be okay?"

Bobby gave Natalie a shrug and shook his head. "I don't think any of us are ever okay. But, I think I'll be able to pull my own."

Natalie gave him a smile and then wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug. "I'm sorry." She quietly apologized. Natalie didn't really know why, she knew that apologies really didn't do much for what they all went through, but she felt like she needed to say something. Natalie pulled away and gave Bobby a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away.

"You okay?" Sam asked once she reached him.

Natalie sighed and gazed back at Bobby before turning back to Sam. "Not really. But, when am I ever?"

The two of them turn and began their walk back over to the car. But, in the midst of it, Natalie slowly reached for Sam's hand and once they were touching, their fingers slowly entwined with each other in a firm hold. And Natalie could feel herself become more at ease with what had happened. But, what that 'worm' said to her, about nothing but pain coming their way, she couldn't help but think back to Death. That combined with her memory of Lucifer and what he told her. Natalie knew that there was so much more that needed to be discussed and Sam knew that Lucifer possessing him was a topic he and Natalie would have to have sooner or later.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how did you all like it? This is, so far, the longest chapter I have ever written and I hope you all don't mind it! So, until next time! Xx<strong>


	32. Chapter 32

_A/N: So for this chapter it's going to be a little different. It won't focus on a particular hunt, necessarily, but there will be a monster involved. Also, this chapter will be replacing episode 17. Dreaming sequences will be in italics._

_**WARNING: **__There is a torture scene towards the beginning of this chapter, so thought I would let you all know._

_Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Nightmare. What exactly is a nightmare? The simplistic definition would be an unpleasant dream that is filled with fear or terror that can also cause despair, sadness and even anxiety to anyone who experiences them. In the end, it basically is an unpleasant experience for anyone and yet it's something that no one can escape from. Nightmares can be viewed from two different sides. The one side that tends to look at them from an objective point of view. They are simply images that appear when we go to sleep, images that contain material that may be triggering to someone. And it can cause someone to being sleep deprived. Not the best experience in the world But, underneath of that simplistic and an almost "scientific" explanation, lies an even deeper meaning.<p>

Nightmares are not just simply horrid images that we dream up when we go to sleep at night. They are the very thoughts that plague the dark recesses of our minds. Memories that we push so far back, often times we forget about them. Then something triggers the slightest memory and suddenly you are hit with it at full force. They represent what we are most afraid of in life. Whether it's dying, monsters, the feeling of abandonment or the very thought that you will be on your own, everyone has that certain fear we all try to hide.

They aren't just bad dreams. People who say that it was 'just a dream' probably have never truly been through the hell of reliving something that was actually a living hell for you. For a person to have to dream of something that has emotionally beaten them, scarred them, to the point of absolute breakage, they would never truly be able to find someone who really understands. It's something that is dealt with in silence. The most common way is to suffer in silence. No one needs to know what you're dreaming about. How could they know? After all, how is someone supposed to save you from something that's in your mind?

….

After the encounter with the Kahn worm, which is what Dean continued to call it, the three hunters felt that they needed a break. The time that they had in that cannery had shaken them, especially Natalie, who had not been herself for the past week.

Currently, they were in Fort Collins, Colorado, it was literally just a random place that they stopped at and they haven't left since. Although they wouldn't outwardly admit it, but they liked being here. The huge mountains were settled out in the horizon and Natalie had made it a habit to be awake in time to see the sun come up. Though, the reason she would be up in the early hours during those times was not to see the sunrise.

Horrible nightmares. That was her reason for the few times Sam or Dean would catch her being awake to early. But, she never told them why because how silly would that have sounded to them. The three of them hunted supernatural beings and yet Natalie can't go to sleep because of nightmares. To her, it sounded pathetic.

Towards the beginning, when she started having these nightmares it hit her as being a little odd. Right as they rolled into town, that's when the nightmares hit. But, Natalie figured since the whole thing with the Kahn worm and the memory of Lucifer, she felt that her mind was just trying to reorient itself. But, as the nightmares continued they began to get worse, the more she seemed off to Sam and Dean.

Several times they would try and coax her into talking with them, in the hopes that it would make her spill out whatever was going on, but Natalie knew better than that. She was clever. Always making sure to dodge their questions and to switch the conversation around. Although, with the lack of sleep she's been getting, being able to think quickly hasn't really done any wonders for her. But, every time one of the boys would show concern she would brush them off, as she usually did. Told them that she was just getting over what happened at the cannery. That particular excuse was about to run its course though.

But, these nightmares were effecting Natalie in a way dreams never really have before. First off, they were nightmares she's had before. Regarding her parents, brother and of course, Sam. But, as of now, they weren't as violent as they used to be when she first had them years ago. It was simply being forced to watch the events unfold over and over again. Although, recently, Natalie has noticed that the dreams seemed to be going in a more disturbing and violent direction, but she would always wake up before anything would happen.

And that was the pattern Natalie has noticed was currently happening for the past couple days. Whenever the dream seemed to start steering towards that direction, Natalie would wake up. But, every time she would go back to sleep it would start all over again and each time she woke up, she would get only a little farther past the last point she dreamed about. It almost seemed like these nightmares had their own plan. It was almost like they were being manipulated to being this cruel.

It was also taken into her account that whenever she woke up, there would be this horrible compression on her chest. Almost as if something heavy was lying on her and it would only lighten slightly, when she was fully awake. But, it would always cause her to have difficulty breathing once she was awake. But, she would be able to gain her breath back soon after that.

Regardless why these dreams started, the thing Natalie was most concerned about was getting the hell out of this town. It just didn't sit well with her. She wanted out. Away from all of this. If she did so, Natalie felt that the nightmares would go away. At least that's what she was hoping for.

She tried getting Sam and Dean to agree with her, without throwing it out there that she was suffering from these night terrors. The boys would simply ask her why? What was so bad about this town that she wanted to leave? Besides there was always more for them to do, Dean would point out every time, which would ultimately force Natalie to silently agree with them. She figured the more of a fight she puts up, the more suspicious Sam and Dean would be and that's something she doesn't want, or rather need, right now.

Natalie also figured that the boys deserved this. To be able to stay in one place, without having to rush out once they've gotten a hint at a new job. Also, it had been oddly quiet this past week, though currently, with the whole Eve thing, there would be one burst of activity and then nothing. So, in a sense, it wasn't to odd for them, for the moment at least.

In the end, Natalie figured that she would just ride out the nightmares until Sam and Dean decided that they could leave town. If anything, Natalie could handle having these nightmares, that's what she thought at first. Now, they were continuous, dreaming of the same incidents, though the differences are what made them worse than the actual events. But, she could make it through worse events, then Natalie could certainly pull through this without having to tell Dean or Sam about it. At least, that's what she hoped.

* * *

><p><em>Natalie looked around her, seeing nothing but an empty blackness. She never thought she could see darkness so hollow, empty. The sound of chains rattling echoed around her, bouncing off of non-existent walls. Feeling her own fear coming over her, Natalie slowly backed up, not knowing if there would be anything behind her, she just felt the incredible urge to move. <em>

_An incredible, tense pain pierced her back and she cried out as she was hoisted up, the weight of her body pulled her down and Natalie could feel, what felt like hooks, embedded deeply into her body. The pain was unbearable. White, hot, nauseating pain, causing her body to tense by the sensation that it created. _

_Natalie vainly reached back to one of the hooks, hoping to try and free herself from its grasp, but the object pulled her up and then dropped her, before pausing in the same position, dangling her body in the air. The action caused Natalie to choke on a cry, feeling her skin begin to tear from the force. _

_"Sam!" Natalie called out, hoping that the hunter would hear her. "Sam!" _

_The area around her erupted in a intense, white light, everything around her now illuminating and yet there was still nothing. For all she knew, Natalie was strung up in a never ending location. Through her tear glazed eyes, Natalie could see the image of a figure walking towards her and as the image cleared, her eyes widened at the sudden panic that shot through her nerves. _

_Elais stopped just a few feet in front of her, his eyes scanning over her face before they finally made their way down her body. A sly grin adorning his face at the satisfaction he felt seeing her like this. In any case, Natalie would have snarled some kind of insult, but her sole attention had been on these hooks that were in her back and the pain hadn't dimmed, if anything, it felt like it had grown worse. _

_Elais tilted his head to the side, seeing Natalie physically struggling to try and alleviate the amount of pain that these instruments were putting her through. Her hand was still on the main hook that was embedded through the middle of her back and she was pulling up, to lighten some of the strain her body was going through. Elais ticked his finger back and forth and then tightened his hand into a fist. _

_A growing heaviness in Natalie's abdomen was making it difficult to keep herself up and as the feeling spread throughout her torso, her body suddenly jerked by a quick flash of pain and her grip loosened, causing her back to weigh back down and Natalie screamed out, not able to keep it back. _

_Elais then unfolded his hand and held it up to Natalie, a constriction in her throat was causing her to choke on her attempts to breathe. Natalie tried to raise her hand up to her throat, but the slightest move would send a shock wave of pain throughout her body. _

_Resulting for not moving at all, Natalie remained helpless, her body hanging from hooks and Elais was free to do whatever it is he wanted to do. Which was actually his intention. Elais closed his hand slightly, constricting her air consumption even more and then he brought up his other hand and quickly made a claw motion._

_The sound of clothes and skin ripping reverberated in this hollow space and Natalie's choked screams overpowered them. Her eyes watered at the stinging pain that settled on her chest and the feel of hot blood running down her body and dripping off her feet, collecting on the ground as a puddle. Elais made another motion, creating cuts down the length of Natalie's stomach and abdomen. This time, his hold on her neck dropped and it allowed the release of a hoarse and garbled ear piercing scream from Natalie. _

_Natalie let out the last bit of her cry and began to suck in deep and shallow breaths, trying to supply her body with enough air as she could. Her head hung down and her eyes immediately focused on the deep red puddle that was collecting beneath her. Her shirt was now shredded, beyond recognition, and pieces of clothing were mingling with shredded skin. Both of them drenched in blood to the point she couldn't tell what was her shirt and what was the mangled pieces of her body being ripped to shreds. _

_Natalie slowly raised her head up, her eyes threatening on closing, her body numb with pain and she could slowly feel herself going into shock. The sound of her blood dripping off her shoes and slashing into the puddle below. _

_Elais walked closer to her, his hand grabbing a hold of her neck, forcing her eyes to meet his. He looked so proud of himself, that he was finally able to enforce this kind of torture on Natalie. The one person he wanted most to suffer at his hands. The one member of her family, aside from her father, that he wanted so much to kill. Here she was, ripped open in front of him, bleeding out like she was some animal in a slaughterhouse and his lips curled right back into that angering grin of his. _

_Natalie strained to find her voice, she needed to call out, thinking that somewhere in her mind, help would actually come for her. Natalie was in the process of opening her mouth, trying to allow air flow in and out of her lungs, despite the hold on her neck. Building up the air in her lungs, Natalie knew that she would only have one chance for this and she was willing to take it._

_Her mouth opened wider and her chest rose as she managed to scream out, with much difficulty, the first name that came to mind. "Sam!" _

_At the instant his name slipped past her lips, Elais brought a knife up and quickly sliced it across her throat..._

_..._

The first thing Natalie was able to do was suck in a wheezing breath. Her eyes flung open and she saw only a warm glowing light, nothing physical or organic. It was just a constant shade of a warm orange glow that flooded her eyesight. Exhaling the breath she took in, her chest rose up and down frantically, her body trying to provide the air that her mind thought was being deprived of.

Natalie then felt two warm hands grab onto her arms and she immediately began to panic, her legs thrashed under the covers and her hands tried to push away whatever it was that had a hold on her.

_"Nad!" _

A voice called out to her, a voice that sounded so distant, like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel. Natalie's eyes flickered back and forth, her vision just beginning to clear and the outlines of various objects made their presence.

_"Nad! Calm down!" _

The voice sounded closer and Natalie turned to her right and felt two hands press against each side of her face, forcing her to focus on the blurred outline in front of her. Natalie squinted at what was in front of her, the image now beginning to clear and Sam's face soon came through.

Natalie desperately clung onto Sam's arm as she assessed the room that she was in and it didn't take long to remind her that she was in their motel room. Looking at the foot of her bed, Dean was staring at her, his eyes widened with concern and what looked like a little panic.

Natalie continued taking in quick, sharp breaths, though she could feel as if it wasn't going any good. She was breathing in, but it wasn't doing what it was supposed to. Her lungs felt like they weren't getting oxygen. Her face began to tense as she raised her hand to her chest and Sam moved his hands from her face to hold her by the shoulders.

"Nad, what is it?" Sam scanned over Natalie, trying to see if there were any signs of injury, which there shouldn't be, but he had to make sure.

Natalie's breathing quickened and it started to turn into panicked wheezing, her chest began to grow tight, straining with every new breath that she took in. Her dream hit her fast and the pain that had felt so real, soon the tightness in her chest turn painful and her eyes closed, almost allowing a few of her tears to escape. Instead, Natalie launched off the bed, pushed past Sam, and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Her hands immediately grabbed hold of the sink and her eyes closed tightly, the pain in her chest deepening and her throat, which had been sore from her screaming, stung as air moved in and out of her lungs and traveled up through her throat. Finally, being in the somewhat private sanctuary of this bathroom, her body nearly crippled within itself and she breathed out a silent cry, finally allowing her tears to stream down her face.

Natalie's silent cry ended and she found herself gasping for air, hoping that it would drown out any cries so that Sam and Dean wouldn't hear. Her hand slowly pressed against her chest and she rubbed gently at the area, her breathing finally slowing and the pain was diminishing. But, the compression was not gone and her brows furrowed at she rubbed at the area, feeling a little bit of soreness as she did so.

Looking up into the mirror, she had to hold back a gasp at what she saw. Her face was different. Newly formed bags under her eyes, created from her lack of sleep recently and her cheeks looked like they were becoming hollow, almost as if she hadn't eaten anything for weeks. She slowly shook her head and rubbed at her itchy, red eyes and wiped away the drying tear trails on her cheeks.

A soft knock on the door caught her attention, but Natalie simply closed her eyes and sighed, knowing that she would have to face Sam and Dean after what just happened.

"Nad?" Sam's voice came through. "Are you alright?"

Natalie pressed her hands up to her cheeks and took in silent breaths and exhaled through her mouth. "I'm fine." She answered, her voice hitching towards the end and she mentally cursed, feeling a whole new round of tears beginning to form. She couldn't even keep herself together long enough to answer Sam without hinting to him how distressed she was.

The door opened slowly, enough for Sam to peak in to assess the scene. Natalie was facing the sink, her hands covering her face and her body were slumped at the shoulder, just projecting exhaustion.

"Nad." Sam spoke as he pushed the door open a little more. "What's wrong?"

Natalie pulled her hands away, after taking a moment to gather herself, and turned to Sam, giving him a shrug. "It's fine. Everything's fine." She brushed past him and walked out seeing Dean giving her an expecting look. "It's okay. I'm sorry I woke you guys up. Don't worry. Just go back to sleep alright?"

Natalie walked over to one of the chairs and picked up her jacket, quickly sliding it on.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked quickly.

"I'm just going to get some air." Natalie looked down at her outfit to assess what she was wearing. A simple t-shirt and a pair of old sweats. That should keep her warm enough, but that was the least of her concerns.

Looking up, the brothers hadn't lighten up on their stares, both of them silently emanating that they wanted an explanation. To know why Natalie, all of a sudden, was screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night.

"I'm fine." Natalie repeated, her tone had hardened, but the boys could hear the forcedness in it. "Just go to sleep. I'm not gonna stay out there long, I just need to clear my head." Natalie didn't wait for an answer and instead, walked out of the motel room without saying anything else.

Closing the door, Natalie zipped up her jacket and breathed out a shivering breath, the sudden cold air hit her unexpectedly, though it relieved the aching she still had in her chest. And standing out here, she hadn't realized how warm she was.

Natalie stashed her hands in her jacket pockets and strolled over to the Impala. Leaning against the drivers side door, Natalie washed a hand down her face and groaned.

"Okay, what's going on?"

Natalie jumped and looked back, seeing Sam standing behind her and she hissed out a breath. "Sam, don't just come up behind me like that. I didn't even hear you walk out."

"I can be quiet if I want to." Sam answered, with a quick shrug.

"That might not be the best idea. For you to do that to me. Really." Natalie answered honestly, before turning back around and folding her arms over her chest.

"And that's exactly why I'm out here." Sam walked over to Natalie's side and leaned against the Impala. "What was that all about? A nightmare?"

Natalie slumped her shoulders and sighed. "I guess. Yeah, it was a nightmare. But, it's fine. It was just a bad dream. Nothing more."

"Well it must have been more than a nightmare. Nad you woke us up, screaming bloody murder and you were thrashing around. Dean and I had to struggle to hold you down. It sounded like you were getting murdered."

Natalie flinched at his words, turning her head away from him, as the nightmare began to replay again in her head. "Sorry. About waking you guys up."

"Why are you apologizing? You don't need to apologize for something like that."

"Yeah, well, this isn't the first time I've had nightmares. I should be used to it by now." Natalie retorted, which only made Sam scoff.

"You never get used to nightmares Nad. Though I will say, it's been a while since you've had one. What sprung them up?"

Natalie shrugged and pushed away from the Impala, intent on going to take a walk. "I don't know. It just started happening." She answered.

Sam grabbed her arm, ensuring that she wasn't going to go anywhere. "Nad. I think we're past the point where keeping things from us is not a useful tactic."

Natalie turned fully around to face him, making sure to keep her expression the same, even though really just looking at Sam was making a lump form in her throat and her eyes began to water.

Sam saw this and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. "Nad. Tell me. What was it?"

Natalie kept her face neutral, swallowing several times to get rid of the ache in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes. Finally, her face scrunched, she bit down on her lip and looked away from Sam, hoping that it would help her to regain her composure, but instead, she felt her wall grow weaker.

She breathed out a wet breath and then sniffed, while looking down at her feet, trying her best to keep herself from look at him. Natalie knew that if she did, she would most likely lose what little strength she had left.

"It was...it was just Elais. And he...had me up on these hooks..." She paused and made the mistake of looking at Sam, the amount of empathy and concern pouring from his eyes were almost enough to completely break her. "And he...well, I don't think I need to really go into detail about it. But, I do remember...calling for you. Thinking that was going to help me."

Sam moved his hand down to hers, taking it in his hold and then leaned away from the car. Once he did, Natalie pushed herself against him, her arms wrapping around his back and her head nestled under his chin. Sam moved his arm to secure around her lower back, holding her closer to him.

"You sure you don't want to talk-"

"No." Natalie answered hastily, slowly shaking her head. "No, just..." Natalie's arms tightened around him and she snuggled closer to his chest. "Can we just...stay like this? Just for a little longer."

"Okay." Sam responded, bringing his other arm to wrap around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head, his hand rubbing against her back soothingly. "Okay."

While holding her, Sam couldn't help but notice that she was relatively warm, warmer than she usually would be. He raised his cheek and looked down at her, her eyes were closed and he pressed his hand to her forehead. Sam's hand was cold, from being outside for this length of time, and it brought relief to Natalie's warm skin and she hummed in her approval.

But, Sam was far from having any kind of relief. His brows furrowed as he moved his hand down to her cheek, feeling that her skin was the same temperature. Warm, very warm actually. Almost as if she was starting to run a fever.

"Nad. Are you getting sick?"

Natalie raised her brow at him, but kept her eyes close. "Hmm?"

"You're really warm Nad. I mean, _really, _warm." Sam said, his voice giving off his growing alarm. His hand swiftly went down to her neck and he checked the temperature, feeling that it was the same.

"No. I'm fine." Natalie mumbled, her body sinking in closer to him, like she was about to fall asleep.

Sam gently pushed Natalie away and she groaned in protest, trying to reach back out for him. "Nad. It's fine, hold on." Sam braces his hands on both cheeks, framing her face with his hands and his eyes scanned over her. She finally allowed her eyes to open faintly and now that he had a better look at her, he brought one of his hands up to her forehead, feeling that the warmth had risen only just slightly, but that might be due to the fact that he face was against his chest for the past few minutes.

"Okay, Nad. Let's get you inside." Sam turned her around and gently ushered her towards the motel door and much to his satisfaction, Natalie didn't seem to put up an argument. Either she was to tried, which was most likely, or the heat in her body was starting to get to her. Either way, Natalie getting sick is that last thing they want to happen.

* * *

><p>Natalie ran her hands over her wet hair, the hot water streaming down her face and over her chest. Steam swirled in clouds around her, fogging the bathroom wall tiles and the mirror. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep and when she woke up, she actually wasn't surprised to see Sam already awake. He told her not to take a hot showers, since it already seemed like she was warm enough. Though, Natalie just simply brushed him off. She was fine.<p>

Natalie brought her hands to her face and ran them down, before reaching for the wash rag. As she did so, a quick jolt of pain pierced her chest and she huffed out a painful groan. Her hand flew up to her chest, covering the area that had been irritating her for the past couple of days.

Her brow furrowed as this time, the only thing that was left behind, was an intense burning sensation. Natalie quickly turned off the water and opened the shower curtain, grabbed the towel from the hanger and dried at her chest. Walking over to the mirror, she wiped away the fog and her eyes widened.

On her chest, there was a huge spot, it was a mixture of red irritated skin and then purple, which looked like bruises that were starting to form. She pressed a few fingers against the area, hissing and immediately retracting her hand.

"What the hell?" Natalie stared into the mirror at her chest. She had never seen something like this before. The injury, if that's what you want to call it, had no particular shape to it, it was just there. Then it all seemed to click together, the compression she had been experiencing lately and the chest pains, difficulty breathing. Whatever this thing was, it must be the result of it. But, what the hell was it?"

Natalie shook her head and took the towel, proceeding to drying off the rest of her body. Grabbing her clothes from the sink, Natalie got dressed in a quick order, trying to make sure not to pay any attention to the abrasion on her chest. The more she thought about it though, the more it seemed to make her panic. There was no way she could have done that to herself.

Natalie knew that while she had her nightmares, she would occasionally thrash in her bed, most likely somehow hitting herself in the process. But, this didn't look like that. And it didn't seem likely that she would hit herself that bad to where this would appear.

And then another thought came to her mind and she pulled on her tank top and then her shirt. This abrasion was new. She had never noticed it before just now. After her nightmare last night, her chest pains and her difficulty breathing were worse than the other times.

Natalie shook her head, dismissing the topic for now and slipped into her jeans, zipping and buttoning them. Picking up her night clothes, she opened the bathroom door and was immediately hit with cool air and she stumbled back, her hand pressing against her forehead, trying to ride out the nausea.

The dizziness finally settled and Natalie walked back out into the room, stashing her clothes into her bag. The door opened and Natalie only looked up quickly and saw Sam walk in.

"Hey. You feeling okay?" Sam asked as he closed the door.

Natalie furrowed her brows and shrugged. "Yeah. I feel fine."

"Just wanted to make sure." Sam answered, though it was actually easy to tell that he didn't believe her. "Dean wants to go into town, said there's a restaurant he wants to try out."

Natalie shrugged and picked up her coat from the bed. "Fine by me. Let's go then."

Sam raised his hand up, stopping her from leaving. "Are you sure? I mean don't you think that maybe you should stay here. Get some rest."

Natalie pursed her lips and quickly slid on her jacket. "No. I got my rest and now, I'd rather go out into town then stay here all day. So can we please go?" Natalie brushed past Sam and walked out the door.

….

Natalie moved the fork around her plate, pushing around the contents and every once in a while, she would take a small bite out of it. In all honesty, she wasn't hungry, at all. But, she came here because she didn't want to stay back at the motel. God, that was the last thing she wanted to do. Despite the fact that she felt much worse than the day before. Her head felt like it was being crushed by an immense force, her entire body still felt hot and it seemed like the temperature was rising and her chest has yet to stop hurting. This thing was aggravating her and she continuously would rub at it, to try and relieve some of the irritation.

During the whole time they were eating, Natalie stayed silent while Dean and Sam would go on their own conversations. Talking about various things, Eve, the whole situation at the cannery and a few other things that Natalie tuned out. It didn't concern her and frankly she wasn't interested. But her quietness caught the bother's attention and ever so often, they would glance at her and just stare. She never made the act to get them to stop. It was almost like Natalie wasn't even paying attention to anything.

All she did was continuously play at her food with a blank expression on her face. Dean slowly chewed at the food in his mouth and looked at Natalie, his confusion and concern evident as he looked over at his brother. Dean made a quick head motion towards Natalie and Sam only shook his head.

In the long run, this wasn't something new for the boys. They had been through a period, when she first started hunting with them, in which she suffered from terrible nightmares. But, her attitude and personality never drastically changed. She was never like this: quiet, uninterested and lost. Whatever was going on with her, it was more than just the nightmare she had.

Natalie's phone, that was set on the table a couple of inches from her plate, soon began vibrating and both brothers look at it, though Natalie took no interest in it. Actually it seemed more like she didn't even notice it.

Dean switched his gaze from the phone to Natalie, repeating the act several times before finally clearing his throat. "Nad?"

Natalie halted her fork movement and looked up at Dean.

"Your phone is ringing." He gestured toward the object.

Natalie looked down at her phone and then picked it up, not bothering to look at the caller I.D. and ignored the call before setting it back down. The action though caused the irritation on her chest to pulsate and she rubbed at the area, scrunching up her face at the discomfort.

Dean furrowed his brows, having watched the small scene. "Nad. Are you okay?"

Natalie closed her eyes and sighed at the question. "I'm fine." She answered, annoyance being clear as day. "Can you guys stop asking me that?" She asked, before taking a bite out of her food, instantly regretting it as it made her feel sick.

"We're not going to stop asking because there is something up. Is it about the nightmare that you had last night?" Dean asked.

"Have you guys talked with Bobby yet?" Natalie asked, switching the subject around. She saw that Dean was getting ready to argue with her and she decided to try at it again. "Seriously. What's the whole deal with this Eve thing? Has he found anything on her yet?"

Dean pursed his lips and finally gave in and shrugged his shoulders. "Bobby said that since things have been fairly quiet. It's hard to tell. But, he's been reading more into Eve and also going over with what happened at the cannery, hasn't gotten anything new. But, if he does, he'll call us."

Natalie nodded and quickly took another bite, having to force herself to chew and swallow it. "The girl we saw on that security tape. Has he been able to track her down?"

"Not enough to go on." Sam answered. "I mean, on the video, we couldn't even see her real face, all there was, was that messed up thing."

Natalie raised her brows and set the fork down. "Guess we should've asked Rick if he could describe her. But, I guess that choice is down the drain. All we got is what the worm told us. Which was basically almost nothing that could help us find her."

"Well, after we get done here in this town, we're gonna head back to Bobby's. Help him with finding information." Dean answered.

Natalie nodded and settled back against her chair. "Good. Can't wait to get out of this town."

….

The three hunters walked down the sidewalk, having finish their meals, they decided to take a quick stroll through the rest of the town. Natalie, in a small way, was feeling somewhat better. The chest pains had lessen and that was it. Her body was still overheating and her nausea hasn't gone away or lightened. But, regardless, she was more than willing to walk it off.

They passed a street that turned into one of the main neighborhoods and their eyes were attracted to an ambulance, a few police cars and a crowd of people gathering outside of one of the houses. They decided, after their curiousness got the better of then, to try and find out what was going on.

Finally reaching the group, they decided to remain at the back and they attentions focused on the house in front of them. Two paramedics were wheeling out a body on a gurney, and Natalie furrowed her brows. Watching the paramedics a while longer, Natalie was finally able to see the sheet covered body being loaded onto the ambulance and she honestly felt her nausea pick back up.

From around her, she could hear various people talking about the event that took place. Something about the fact that the victim had been erratic for the past few days. She was hysterical, maybe even possibly suffering from delusions. Natalie closed her eyes and groaned, her head began to pound and when she opened them, everything was beginning to spin.

Natalie pressed her hand up to her forehead and turned away from the group, hissing as the pounding increased in its intensity. Looking up, her brows furrowed at the sight of someone standing on the other side of the street looking at her. Narrowing her eyes, Natalie was hit with a wave of confusion to see Sam, standing there, looking at her. In her confused state, she turned back around and saw Sam standing next to Dean, both of them surveying the scene in front of them.

The pain in her chest started to pulsate in singular rhythms and an intense burning arose in that just one area. Her hand clutched at her chest and she turned back around and looked across the street, only to find that 'Sam' was gone.

Natalie tried to take in a deep breath, but the action proved to be to much. The air that was getting to her lungs was not doing anything for her. The familiar compression in her chest returned and it soon spread down to her ribcage, crushing them in an unbelievable force. The heat that was nestling underneath her skin soon rose and it only fueled her nausea even more.

Natalie tried turning back to Sam, but stopped halfway as a shot of pain dispersed throughout her chest and she hunch over slightly, breathing out strained hisses. _What the hell is going on? I need to get out of here. _Natalie tried her best to gulp in breaths, in hopes that it would give her enough energy to actually turn to Sam, to get his attention.

Natalie took the chance and fully straightened her back, which only aggravated the chest injury even more. And in a quick action, Natalie turned to Sam and roughly grabbed him by the shoulder, which garnered his attention quickly. Sam turned to her and Natalie moved closer to him.

"Sam...I...I need to..."

Her vision soon begin to cloud with a few blobs of blackness decorating her sight here and there. The dizziness became overbearing, forcing everything to swirl within each other, creating a kaleidoscope in her sight. Natalie could feel the heat rising to her head and she felt her legs give out, her body falling into Sam's arms and the last thing she heard was her name being called before passing out.

_"Nad!"_

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it? Hope you guys are excited to find out what's causing Natalie to be like this. It is a monster, I will say. And it will all be revealed in the next chapter! Until next time! Xx<strong>


	33. Chapter 33

_A/N: And here we have the next chapter for you all! Also, towards the end of this chapter, there will be a pretty big moment between Sam and Natalie. Though the outcome of it, I don't know if it will be something you all will expect! Also, just a heads up, I just started my new semester of college and while my classes won't be hard, exactly, I do have quite a bit of assignments this semester. So if the occasion happens that I don't post after a week or so, it's because I'm swamped with homework._

_Also, the creature that is in this chapter is from my own creation. I took bits and parts from an existing folklore and made up my own. To, __**marieniz V, **__I dedicate this chapter to you and I hope I was able to deliver that scene for you!_

_Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>The motel room door was kicked open and it bounced off the wall, but Sam pushed it open as he rushed in, with Natalie being carried in his arms. Walking over to the bed, he gently set her down on the bed as Dean went running past him, towards the bathroom. Sam pressed his hand to Natalie's forehead, carefully moving it down to her cheek and then her neck.<p>

"Dean, she's burning up!" He called out to his brother.

Reaching the tub, Dean quickly turned on the faucet, making sure that the water was as cold as it would allow. Holding his hand under the running water, Dean grimaced and then ran back out of the bathroom. Grabbing his bag, Dean rummaged through it until he pulled out a thermometer and tossed it to Sam, who looked at it confusingly.

"When did you get this?" Sam asked, holding the thing up.

Dean shrugged. "What? You can never go wrong without having one of those. I just never got around to actually using it." Dean saw the look that his brother was giving him and he sighed. "Just, check her temperature."

Dean zipped up his bag and then walked over to the door. "Make sure to keep her skin cool for as long as you can. I'm gonna go get some ice. And don't let the tub overflow." Dean ordered as he rushed out the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sam breathed out a sigh and turned on the device. Leaning down towards Natalie, he gently inserted the plastic point into Natalie's ear and held it there, only when it finally beeped did Sam take it out.

_104.5 _

Sam mentally swore and took in a breath, setting the thermometer down on the bed, Sam then turned walked into the bathroom, picking a rag from the sink, his eyes casting a quick glance over at the tub, seeing that it wasn't going to get full, at least not for a little bit longer. Turning on the faucet, he held the rag under the water, his skin numbing at the temperature and he scowled at the slight stinging he felt. Then, wringing the rag of excess water, Sam quickly shut off the sink and dashed back out into the room.

Standing next to Natalie, Sam gently ran the rag over her forehead and then down her cheeks, making small advancements towards her neck. His other hand touched the areas where he had already tried to cool down, but the temperature was still too high. The water was simply settling on her skin and it would soon go warm from her body's heat.

Sam silently cursed to himself, keeping up with the gentle wipes with the rag, feeling that even it to was starting to grow warm. This stupid rag wasn't going to do anything for her high temperature. But, it was the only thing he had so far. He couldn't put her in the tub, because Dean hasn't come back yet with the ice. Sam walked back into the bathroom and turned on the sink faucet again, this time, throwing the rag down to soak in the cold water. Looking over at the tub, Sam rushed over and quickly turned off the faucet, before the water would get to high.

Walking back over to the sink, Sam wringed out the rag a few more times before turning off the faucet again and walked back over to Natalie. Just as he began to wipe at her skin, the motel door swung open and Dean staggered in, carrying a huge tub of ice and he raised it a bit for Sam to see.

"Good thing they had ice to spare." Dean commented before trudging towards the bathroom.

Sam placed the rag down on the bed, then his eyes began to assess Natalie as he heard Dean pour the ice into the tub. Though Sam was wondering how to handle the matter of Natalie's clothes. Most likely, she probably wouldn't want to wake up in soaked clothes, freezing, yet she wouldn't want to be unclothed either. And Sam couldn't even wrap his mind around the thought of having to undress her completely.

Shaking his head, Sam decided to only remove a few articles of her clothing. And by a few, he meant very little. Sam went to work at pulling Natalie's arms out of her jacket sleeves and then gently pulled the clothing out from under her. Moving down to her feet, Sam quickly slipped off her boots, tossing them towards the door and then pulled off her socks.

Dean poked his head out the bathroom door. "Sam come on bring her in here. We don't have time to let the water get colder."

Sam nodded and then braced his one arm under the upper part of her back and the other arm under the back of her knees. In a quick movement, Sam lifted her up and walked into the bathroom, after Dean gave him room to enter. Sam carefully got down on one of his knees and dipped Natalie's legs into the water first. Then moving closer to the edge of the tub, Sam gently lowered her fully into the water. Sam rested her head on the back curve of the tub and made sure to keep a hold on her arm, even though his hand was starting to go numb from the cold.

"So, what do you think it is?" Sam asked finally.

Dean rubbed the side of his face and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe it's just a fever."

Sam tilted his head to the side, showing his doubt. "I don't know Dean. This just doesn't seem like any old fever. She's never been like this. And this fever seemed to have just come out of nowhere."

Dean walked over to the tub and knelt down next to Sam. "Maybe it had been building and we just didn't know. What was her temperature?"

"104.5."

Dean went quiet, his eyes assessing Natalie one more time. "Good thing we got her in here."

Sam slowly nodded his head, but stopped when his eyes caught something. Peaking out from her shirt, on her chest, Sam noticed some discoloration. Sam removed his hold on her arm and moved his hand up to her shirt and slowly pulled away the fabric and his brows furrowed.

"Dean." Sam hit his brother's shoulder with the other hand. Dean gave his brother a look before his eyes landed on what Sam was seeing.

Dean, instinctively, moved closer towards Sam, both of them silently assessing the abrasion on her chest. "What the hell is that?"

"It doesn't look familiar to you?" Sam asked, casting Dean a quick puzzled look.

"I've never seen that before." Dean answered honestly.

"What does it look like to you?" Sam asked, pulling the clothing down just slightly, to give them a little more to work with.

"From here, I don't see what looks like puncture marks. Might just be a really bad bruise? But, I've never seen a bruise like that before."

"And by the looks of it...it looks new. Maybe she got it within the last day or so." Sam added looking back at his brother.

"Well, her breathing sounded to heavy when she woke us up last night. Maybe this was the reason for it." Dean pointed out.

Sam looked back down at Natalie and nodded his head. "Okay, well at least we have somewhat of an explanation."

"We just need to figure out what that is though." Dean placed his hand in the water, feeling that it had gotten colder and then gave Sam a quick nudge. "Go ahead and dunk her real quick. Maybe it'll wake her up."

Sam pulled Natalie away from the back curve and then gently pushed her under water, keeping a hold on her arm.

"I'm gonna go get her bag so that she can change once she's up." Dean stood up and left the bathroom.

Sam tightened his hold on her arm, ready to bring her back up, when he felt her hand grip onto his arm and she pulled herself up out of the water, gasping in a breath. Sam, being slightly startled by it, braced her by the shoulders as Natalie began to thrash around.

"Nad! Hey, it's alright calm down!"

Natalie paused and looked up at Sam, her eyes blinking away the water that was streaming down her face. Her body, instinctively, began to shake from the temperature. "S-sam?" Natalie looked around her, oblivious to it all. "W-what's g-g-going on?"

"You're temperature was high Nad. We had to get you in here to bring it down." Sam explained, making sure to keep her body in the tub. "You need to stay in just a little longer."

Natalie's shaking grew more violent, her hand clutching onto his arm as if she was dependant on it. "...w-w-what...h-happened?"

"You passed out on us Nad. Bad enough we were around a crowd of people, we had to get you out of there quick."

"...passed o-out?" Natalie asked again, showing Sam that was mainly the only thing that she heard from him.

"Yeah, you passed out Nad."

"Sam." Dean walked in with her bag and a few towels. "Is she awake?"

Sam looked back at him. "Yeah."

Dean looked over Sam's shoulder at Natalie and then nodded his head. "Okay. Maybe you should take her out." Dean placed the bag down on the sink and stood behind Sam with the towels.

"Okay, Nad. Here we go."

Natalie felt Sam grabbed a hold of her arms, but she didn't want to be forced to be helped up by him entirely. Her feet pressed down and she, weakly, got herself back up to her feet. Water streamed down off her soaked clothes and her arms instinctively clutched closer to her body, her entire frame shivering. Bracing her hand against the shower wall, Natalie stepped over the ledge and then brought her other leg over, water forming into a puddle on the ground.

Dean handed Sam a towel, which he immediately wrapped around her. Natalie tugged the towel closer to her body and looking back up, she could see both boys staring at her. In something that looked like, confusion and worry. On instinct, Natalie looked down at her chest and saw that her abrasion was no longer being covered by her shirt, which was now sagging down due to being soaked.

Her eyes closed and she slowly pulled the towel to her chest, covering the bruise up. "Did you two already see it?"

"Yeah. We did." Sam answered.

Natalie nodded and pursed her lips together, wiping the water away from her face. "Let me change my clothes. Then w-we'll talk."

"You sure you'll be fine?"

Natalie brushed off Sam's question and nodded for them to leave. "I'll be fine." Natalie eyed the brothers carefully, watching silently as they left the bathroom. Though, Sam stopped halfway out the door, his lips pressing into a faint smile which Natalie with her own.

When the door was finally closed, Natalie pressed her face into her hands, already feeling herself overcoming with a wave of exhaustion. And not to mention the fact that she was upset because Sam and Dean had already seen this thing on her chest. Which, in all honesty, that wasn't the way she wanted them to find out about it. Grabbing her bag from the counter, Natalie rummaged through, trying to find clothes that she was in the mood for. And in her mind, she was trying to prepare the explanation that she was going to have to present to them.

* * *

><p>Natalie opened the door to the bathroom and walked out, her hand braced against the wall for support, and her bag in the other hand. Barely out the door, Natalie had to stop, the dizziness in her head being to overbearing. Her eyes closed and her face scrunched up, trying to rid of the dizzy spell.<p>

"You alright?" She heard Dean ask.

Hissing out, Natalie slowly nodded her head, though that seemed to aggravate it even more. "Just...still a little dizzy."

Natalie went with it though, pushed herself to continue walking and she dropped her bag near the table. "So. No doubt you two are waiting for an explanation." Natalie walked over to her body and sat down on the end.

"First off. We want to know when the hell you got that thing." Dean said, pointing at her chest.

"Yeah. Well, there's a story that goes along with it." Natalie answered, looking up at them. "For the past week, I've been having...really bad nightmares. That's why I was trying to convince you both to leave, because I thought, for some reason, if I got back out on the road, it would stop. But, I knew that I was being ridiculous, so I decided to just, ride them out. It's not like I haven't had them before."

Dean raised his arms up and gave her a confused look. "And what do these nightmares have to do with that thing on your chest?"

Natalie gave a limp shrug. "Well, for the past few days, every time I would wake up, there would be this heavy compression on my chest. Almost like there was something lying on me. That's why when I woke you guys up last night, I could barely breathe. But, this thing." Natalie pulled down the collar of her shirt slightly, showing the abrasion again. "I didn't notice it until I got out of the shower this morning."

Dean's brows raised at her words. "Wait. You already knew about this...and yet you didn't say anything to us."

"Well, I wasn't exactly sure what it is." Natalie answered. "For all I knew, I might've just, somehow, hit myself. But, I know that's a stupid reason. I know I should've told you guys earlier, but I was just freaked out, okay?"

Dean pulled one of the chairs from the table and placed near Natalie, before sitting down in it. "Well, do you have any kind of idea as to how you got that?"

Natalie shook her head. "No. Not a clue."

Dean rubbed at his chin and casted a look over to his brother. "Okay, well then let's just piece it all together. Nightmares for the past week. Chest compressions started happening just a few days ago and not to mention you sporting a high fever almost out of nowhere. And now this abrasion on your chest. I don't know."

"Well, if it's a sickness, I've never had something like this before." Natalie answered.

"I don't think it's any kind of sickness Nad." Sam commented.

Natalie gave Sam a look and then began to switch her gazes between the brothers. "What, you think it's the result of some kind of creature?"

"Possibly."

"Okay, wait a minute." Dean spoke up. "Let's maybe call Bobby, see what he might know about this kind of thing." Dean pulled out his cell phone and dialed out Bobby's number, placing it on speaker, Dean held it out so the three of them would have enough range for Bobby to hear them.

_"Yeah?" _

"Hey, Bobby. We need your help with something." Dean said.

_"What? Did you three finally find a job?" _

Dean looked up at Natalie and Sam before pursing his lips. "Yeah, we might actually have something. But, it's Nad, Bobby."

Natalie widened her eyes at Dean, silently asking what he was doing, though she already knew.

_"Why? What happened to Nad?" _

Natalie leaned closer to the phone, thinking that it would be best if Bobby heard it from her. "I'm fine Bobby. It's just that, to make it simple, I've been having horrible nightmares for the past week, heavy chest compressions started a few days ago, I ran up a high fever out of nowhere and there's this...bruise, abrasion, on my chest."

The line on the other end was silent and Natalie couldn't help but raise her brows at it. Did Bobby hear her? Or did he hang up?

"Bobby, you there?" Natalie asked.

_"Yeah. I'm here." _

"Well, do you have anything idea what it could be?" Natalie went on to ask.

_"It sounds like you are dealing with an Alp." _

Natalie furrowed her brows. "What the hell is an Alp?"

_"An Alp is a nightmare creature, that originates from German folklore. It's a creature that only attacks during the night and it sits upon the chest of it's victim and controls their dreams, most of them making them into sick, twisted nightmares. The longer the Alp sits on the victims chest, it creates almost like a crushing feeling, which could explain your chest compressions and it will often cause the victim to wake up. Alp attacks were used as early explanations for things like sleep paralysis even night terrors. " _

Natalie nodded at Bobby's explanation. "So, we are dealing with an Alp here then?"

_"Well, actually, not really. It does sound like an Alp, but the whole fever and chest abrasion isn't making any sense to me. Never had I read about Alp's leaving any kind of injury or caused a high fever." _

Natalie couldn't help but roll her eyes at this almost loop of information that seemed to not really get them anywhere. "Is there any other kind of creature that deals with nightmares then?"

_"Well, there is the Mara, the female version of an Alp, but I don't think that's what your dealing with either." _

"So, what, is it something completely different then?" Dean asked.

_"Let me read around. See if I can dig up anything else. I'll call you if I have anything." _

"Alright, thanks Bobby." Dean ended the call and placed the phone back into his pocket.

"An Alp. Have you guys ever encountered it before?" Natalie suddenly asked, now curious about the subject.

Dean and Sam both shook their heads. "Never experienced it. Never really heard of it. Pretty sure we ran across it in some book but, just let it slip our minds." Sam answered.

"We just got to hope that Bobby will find something soon."

* * *

><p>Natalie read through her father's journal entries carefully, after having Bobby call back with nothing. Even though Bobby didn't have anything, he knew that this was to suspicious to just brush off. Therefore, Natalie felt that she would conduct her own research. She would've gone on her laptop right away, but, Natalie often forgot that she always had another resource that she could exhaust. Her father's journal.<p>

Also, researching this was acting as something to keep Natalie productive. Dean and Sam were out, running a few errands, and they were adamant that Natalie stay at the motel. Sam had checked her temperature before they left, and after seeing that it was still high, they forced her to stay. Not wanting to risk the possibility that she might pass out again, even though Natalie tried to convince them that she felt fine. That, in itself, was an absolute lie and Natalie knew it. If anything, she actually felt like she was getting worse.

The tightness in her chest was now becoming very painful and her breathing was not making it any better. Her head still felt like it weighed a ton and its intense throbbing was coming and going in irregular rhythms. And this is why she was reading and not resting. She wanted to know what the hell she needed to do to make all of this stop.

After about thirty minutes of reading through material, Natalie finally stumbled upon a two page entry. It was shorter than what her father had written in his journal, yet it provided the answer that she needed.

Her reading was interrupted by the door being opened and Sam and Dean walked in. Natalie scooted herself off the bed and went to stand up, but had to sit back down, her dizziness getting the better of her. Natalie groaned and took in a breath before standing back up.

"So, I think I have the answer as to what happened to me." Natalie finally said, garnering the brother's attention.

"Well, we just heard about something else being picked up. Dead." Natalie made a face at Dean's words. "And weren't you supposed to be resting?" Dean asked as he set one of the bags down on the table.

Natalie rolled her eyes, brushing away Dean's question. "Bobby called back after you two left and he didn't have anything. But, I decided to go around in my father's journal and..." Natalie held up the journal a satisfied smile lightened her face, which was dripping with exhaustion. "I found it.

"Okay, what did you find?" Sam asked.

Natalie walked over to the table and sat down, going back through to the find the page as Dean and Sam sat down with her. "It's a timor comedenti."

"A what?" The brothers asked.

"Well, that's the Latin name for it. It stands for, fear eater, but it's most commonly called Timor. Basically, it's like an alp in the sense that it causes nightmares, but it derives from that particular family. It's a creature that visits in the night, sits upon the victims chest, injects its venom into the victim, which is what causes the nightmares and that's what Timor's feed off of...nightmares. The whole fever thing, is a reaction to the venom in the bloodstream and that's where this comes from..."

Natalie placed the journal down and pointed at a picture that her father had taped on the page. A victim's chest that was garnering the same bruise on the chest as Natalie's.

"Apparently, Timor's like to inject near the heart. Now...this is where it will get bad."

Sam and Dean both look up from the book and to Natalie, "What do you mean?" Sam asked.

Natalie bit down on her lip. "The venom is what the creature uses to create the nightmares. And, usually, it can also cause the victims to hallucinate. These hallucinations happen because, since the victims are suffering from nightmares, they don't sleep and when they don't sleep, they suffer from sleep deprivation. Because of this, most of the time, the victims...will kill themselves. If they don't kill themselves...then the venom will."

It took the brothers almost a minute to finally piece together what Natalie had just told them. They both looked down at the picture and then up at Natalie, the fatality of the words finally sinking in.

Sam slowly shook his head. "You're not saying..."

"This venom is slowly eating me alive." Natalie answered. "The creature, during every visit, has to inject more venom. The more they inject, the nightmares become more violent and more venom gets pumped through the body. This bruise, only appears when a victim is close to the end of the line."

"You can't possibly be saying that Nad." Sam retorted. "There's no way."

"It's all in my father's journal. This was from a case that he hunted on. He wouldn't put anything down that wasn't fact."

"So...basically, you're saying...this venom is going to kill you." Dean finally asked.

Natalie settled back in her seat and nodded. "Yeah. Once the venom has nearly taken over the body. The victim would usually pass out and die, but sometimes they don't pass out. My dad described it as, watching someone go through a seizure episode as the venom just...eradicates the body."

"Is there any way that we can stop it?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. My dad doesn't have anything written down for it. And I don't think that killing it is going to do any good. It's not like a djinn or anything. It's actual venom that it's using. I'm gonna have to cleanse my body of it...I just don't know how."

"Well, then, we're gonna have to find something or someone that can help you." Sam added.

"No. We're not going to do anything except for finding this thing." Natalie said, looking down back in the journal. "My father said that these things like to hang around wooded areas and anywhere near water. Now, I've already looked it up and found a place that one might be hiding out. Fossil Creek Park. It's not that far from here and there are some areas where it could provide some kind of protection for it."

"If this thing is gonna need to get ganked, then you're staying behind Nad." Dean said. Looking over he could see Natalie about to argue with him and he quickly shook his head. "No, Nad. We don't want to risk you getting worse."

Natalie scoffed at Dean. "Dean. No matter what, I'm not going to get better. In fact, I'm only _going_ to get worse. This isn't going away on it's own. And me staying behind is not going to make it go away."

Sam cautiously eyed Natalie, letting out a sigh. "Nad. You look like you would barely last that long out there. It's best if you stay here."

Natalie gave Sam a look and closed her father's journal. "You know, if this venom is going to kill me, then I would much rather be out there with you guys then here...by myself."

The finality in Natalie's words seemed to strike something in both Sam and Dean. The expressions on their faces turned grim and their jaws clenched. Natalie was literally dying, slowly, right in front of them. They didn't know how long it would take for the venom to finally finish it's job and they had no idea how to handle it. After they get the thing, they would need to get help for her...and fast.

Dean finally sighed and gave his brother a look, both of them silently communicating their thought. "Fine. How do you kill it?"

Natalie couldn't help but close her eyes in relief. "Basically, like a ghoul. Either decapitation or any kind of head trauma will kill it."

Dean tapped his finger on the table and then nodded. "Alright. Let's get ready and we'll head out. "

….

Natalie stashed the rest of her necessities into her bag and then zipped it up. Looking over at Sam, who was packing his bag at the table, she couldn't help but notice how quiet he was being. Not surprising actually. She knew how he felt about her going with them. Well that combined with everything that Natalie had told them, both brothers were a little on edge about this. They had expressed several times that they wanted to get her help first, before taking care of the creature. But, Natalie was adamant. The longer they waited the more people were in danger from this thing.

Picking up her jacket and bag, Natalie walked over to Sam, setting down both items on the table, she stood next to him. As he finished up packing, both of them stood in silence. Waiting for the other to say something, but nothing could be said to ease any kind of tension or uncertainty.

Natalie closed her eyes, feeling the same painful rhythmic pulsating throbs returning in her chest and her hand clutched at the area. "Sam." Natalie strained to say, which seemed to have alerted him as Natalie felt his hand grab onto her arm.

"Are you alright?"

Natalie pulled her hand away from her chest and leaned down on the table. "If I said I was fine, we both know that would be a lie. No. I'm not. I feel like the chest pains are getting worse."

"I really wish you would just stay here Nad." Sam said, though the tone in his voice made it seem like more of a plea than a comment. Almost like he was hoping to get her to change her mind about going.

Natalie shook her head and breathed out. "I'm not staying behind."

"Yeah, I know. You're just to stubborn that's why."

"Or maybe it's because if I don't make it, I don't want to be alone." Natalie added and immediately, her face scrunched up at what she said. Leaning away from the table, Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing that his gaze was down and his jaw was tense.

Natalie sighed and rubbed at her forehead. "Sorry. But, we can't act like that isn't a possibility."

"No. It's not a possibility Nad." Sam forced out, finally allowing himself to look at her and he pursed his lips. Her eyes were heavier than they were before, darker circles under her eyes, her complexion looked pale, sickly pale. And her expression was filled with only exhaustion and readable pain. He could tell when her chest was becoming to much when her eyes would scrunch up, only faintly, and as he was looking at her, it happened several times.

"Yeah, well, you know what it's something that I am taking into consideration. I mean, for all we know, I'm practically almost like a walking corpse."

"Which is why we need to get you help first Nad." Sam spoke up. "This thing...we can wait to kill it, you've got to be the main priority."

"What about all of these people? Every single one of them is a potential victim. This thing isn't going to stop with me. I mean isn't that what we're supposed to do? Save people. I can't be an exception for stopping that. And I get that you're worried, both you and Dean are, but you don't think that I'm scared...I'm terrified." Natalie gently rubbed at her chest. "I mean I'm being eaten from the inside and at any minute, I could possibly drop dead."

Sam gave a quick hiss at her words, showing his disdain for having to hear it over and over again.

"And I'd much rather go out fighting, then being cooped up in a motel room. So, I know that you're not going to stop worrying, but, can you just please accept my decision?"

Sam turned his gaze down at his bag on the table, his lips pursed together as he finally began to nod his head. "Fine. We'll do what you want." Sam picked up his bag and made for the door.

Natalie sighed heavily, hearing the tone in Sam's voice. "Sam." She called out, forcing him to stop at the door. "Don't start having that kind of attitude. Please. I really don't want to have to deal with that right now."

Sam stepped back and looked over at Natalie, his eyes adorning frustration more than anger. "I want you to be alright Nad. And you aren't. And you are refusing to let Dean and I help you. Instead, you would much rather just run out there, in your condition, to try and kill this thing."

Natalie's eyes widened slightly and she gave him a shrug. "And is that so wrong for me wanting to do that? To make sure that no one else will get hurt. Two people have already died from this thing Sam. Don't you think it needs to be taken care of?"

"This creature is not what I'm having issues with Nad!" Sam walked over to Natalie, his posture seemed to bulk up as he got closer to her and Natalie couldn't help but step away slightly. "My issue is that you are not willing to put yourself first. You never give a first single thought for yourself."

Natalie scoffed and pressed her tongue against her cheek, in an attempt to hide the pain she was feeling not just in her chest but throughout her entire body. Her stomach felt like a tight knot was forming and her legs were shaking with a twisting pain and also with her frustration with Sam.

"You and Dean are exactly the same. Both of you. Putting yourselves on the line for everyone. Ever since I've been hunting with you two, that's how it's always been. And you have the nerve to lecture me about not putting myself first?"

"Yes. I admit Dean and I are exactly the same when it comes to that. But, with you it's different because we're responsible for you. You have a family outside all of this Nad. Do you really think Dean and I want the day to come where we would have to tell Clara that something happened to you?"

Natalie's stare hardened and she slowly shook her head. "You know what?" She picked up her bag and jacket. "We don't need to discuss this any further. I'm going and that's final. And you're just going to have to suck it up." Natalie pushed past Sam and reached for the door handle before stopping and looking back at him.

"You know, it's funny, you're standing there, lecturing me about being concerned for myself. When I had to deal with the aftermath of you jumping into that pit."

Sam's expression immediately softened from his frustrated induced tension and he couldn't keep his eye contact with Natalie.

"And I know. It was so that the whole world could go on spinning and you were just trying to fix what you messed up. And I probably sound like a complete idiot for even trying to compare this to what happened. But, you know...a whole year. I grieved for you. And what that did to me, you'll never understand. So don't sit here and lecture me on what to put first."

Natalie twisted the handle and threw open the motel room door and quickly stepped out, allowing it to close behind her. Once it was, Natalie closed her eyes and stifled on a cry at the agonizing throbbing that was now spreading down her torso. Her hand braced on the brick siding and she had to strain on her breathing as each exhale seemed to irritate it even more.

"Nad? You alright?"

Natalie looked up, still keeping a focus on her breathing, saw that Dean was giving her a look. Natalie pushed against the wall and walked, limply, over to Dean and nodded. "Let's just get this done and over with."

* * *

><p>To say that the inside of the car was tense was an understatement. It was thick. Dean could feel it permitting off of both Natalie and Sam and he didn't know whether he should address it or simply leave it alone. Both of them had not said a word since they left the motel and they never so much as look at each other, which told him that something happened in the motel room that he didn't witness. And in all honesty, he was glad that he didn't see it.<p>

By the way that they were acting though, Dean could only surmise that they got into an argument of sorts. As he looked over at Sam, he could see confliction, as if his brother didn't know what to think. Confused by whatever he and Natalie had argued about and it was picking at his mind to much.

Dean casted a quick glance in the rearview mirror, seeing that Natalie was to busy looking out the window to catch sight of him looking at her. Whatever kind of anger or frustration she might be feeling, it was being overwhelmed by her exhaustion and pain ridden expression. To say that Dean was worried about her was not enough. He was paranoid. From what she told him, according to her dad's journal, she was not in a good position. This venom was eating away at her and he couldn't fathom how much pain she was in, how much of that she was hiding from them.

Natalie could feel her head moving from side to side with every bump that the car drove over. Her entire body was slowly being numbed from this pain that had now turned into an incredible burning sensation. It started from her chest, right as they left the motel, and it slowly spread down to her legs and was now creeping up into her throat and to her head.

Her eyes were becoming increasingly heavy, watching everything fly past her, it acted as almost like a soothing mechanism, luring Natalie further into this exhaustion that had been eating away at her. Natalie had to blink her eyes several times to keep herself awake.

The exhaustion began to make an even bigger appearance as Natalie's vision was starting to go in and out of focus, the sides of her vision were starting to blur and it was making its way towards the enter of her sight. Natalie shook her head and allowed her eyes to rest for only a few seconds, but opening them, Natalie looked back out the window and saw her brother standing on the side of the street.

Natalie's brows furrowed as she moved closer to the window, watching as they drove past him. Looking out the back window, Natalie saw that there was no one there anymore. Her attention went back to the window in front of her and she saw the car drive past what looked like her father, standing on the side of the road.

Natalie tried to focus herself on what was reality. She knew that what she just saw was not real and she needed to keep her attention on that, but that was becoming increasingly difficult, as a new round of dizziness hit her.

The pain in her chest gradually got worse, the throbbing turned into a hot, burning sensation and the compression in her head began to weigh down on her skull. Natalie braced her hand against her chest and the other on the seat next to her. She thought that if she just tried breathing, it would get her through it, at least that's how she has managed with it all those other times. But, this time it was all to different. The pain was not like it had been before and every time she took in a breath, it felt like the oxygen wasn't getting to her lungs.

Her body began to shake, violently, the high fever she still had was rising in its temperature and her face was becoming red, from her vain attempts at breathing. With her vision soon cluttering with spots, Natalie slowly laid herself down on the backseat, breathing had turned into to silent chokes. The tension in her body was building and her eyes widened at how heavy it felt, she knew that something was going to happen and she didn't stop her tears from streaming down the side of her face. The very thought that this was actually happening to her, was to painful for her to even accept.

Natalie tried to conjure some kind of strength to get the boys attention, but she would be silenced by a sharp jolt of pain that shook through her entire body. If she was going to die right here, right now, she wanted to at least say sorry to Sam. Tell him that she didn't mean to argue with him. The memory of what happened back at the motel room, forced Natalie to close her eyes at how stupid she was being.

The tension that had been building in her body finally released itself. Natalie felt a quick, hot flash of pain that felt like something had just burst inside her, like an organ had decided to burst and Natalie shrieked out.

….

The car swerved to the left as the ear piercing shriek suddenly died down. Sam looked back and saw that Natalie was curled up in a ball, her body still shaking in a seizure like manner.

"Dean! Stop the car!" Sam pushed himself up over the seat ledge, until he was hanging halfway off and braced his hand on Natalie's back. The feeling of her body shaking under his touch was sending a whole new round of panic through him.

"What? What's wrong?" Dean called back, making quick glances at what Sam was doing.

"Stop the-wait no! Call Bobby!" Sam's voice boomed around the interior of the car.

Dean gave Sam a look but carried on with the driving, increasing the speed and quickly dialed out Bobby's number. Sam managed to climb over the ledge of the seats. into the backseat, and moved Natalie's legs so that he could sit down. Once he was settled Sam laid her legs across his lap, pressing his hand against her cheek, Sam could feel how hot she was. Though it was so dark, there was no light source, aside from the street lights that they were passing by, Sam couldn't perform a full assessment on the extend of Natalie's situation.

Sam, instead, wrapped his arm under Natalie and pulled her up, until she was sitting in his lap. Her arms were pressed against her stomach and her hands were closed in fists. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on her forehead and her shaking wasn't getting better, it was getting worse. Sam looked down at Natalie, gently rubbing at her back, although it was met with her squirming and jolting in his hold. Every new jolt or shake was followed by a small squeak or cry, but the way her face was scrunched up, Sam knew that she was in more pain than what he could see.

"Dean! I don't know what to do!" Sam called out in a panic.

"Stop the car!" A voice suddenly appeared next to Dean, causing him to swerve to the right this time and forced the car to come to a sudden and hard halt. Sam surged forward, his hold on Natalie tightening so that he wouldn't lose his grip on her.

"Dean, what the hell?" Sam shouted as he looked up and saw Caden sitting in the passenger seat.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean asked, turning to the angel.

"What do you think?" Caden snarled. "I'm here to help Natalie." Caden quickly threw open the passenger door. "Get her out of the car." Caden ordered before exiting.

Sam and Dean sit there, both of them casting a look to each other. They had not actually been able to really meet Caden. There was that one time he appeared at Clara's house before the three of them were blasted into an alternate realm. And really the only thing they knew about him was from what Natalie told them. He was there to help her and he was in no way a threat to any of them. Although, the brother's still managed to have a hard time believing this new angel. Their thoughts were interrupted with Natalie sending off another pain induced screams.

Caden looked in through the window, his expression managing to harden even more. "Get. Out. Of. The car." He ordered once again.

This time, Sam and Dean didn't simmer in the car's silence. Dean opened the drivers door and quickly opened the door for Sam, who gingerly stepped out, adjusting his hold on Natalie. Caden motioned for the hunters to come on the other side of the car and he followed as they were told.

"Here." Caden stripped off his coat and placed it down on the grass near the side of the road. "Put her down here."

"What? Seriously? Why don't you just zap her back to the motel?" Dean asked, his eyes giving off a thought that could only be interpreted as, are you insane?

"Do you want me to help her or not?" Caden asked, seeing the expression on the boys faces managed to tell him the answer. "Lay her down on this. I need room to work with her."

Sam walked over to the grass and knelt down next to the coat, gently lying Natalie down on the clothing. Her body immediately retracted within itself, arms encircling around her torso, legs curled up into her stomach. Sam brushed his hand down her cheek, because somewhere in his panic stricken mind, that would somehow help calm her. He just felt like he needed to do something.

Dean knelt down next to Sam, his hand resting on Natalie's leg, as he casually looked over at the angel. "You know. This would've been a lot better if you'd arrive earlier today."

"Well, I'm here now." Caden retorted.

Bracing his hand on her shoulder, he tried to get Natalie to roll on her back so he could lay her flat, but with each pull Natalie recoiled in more and would yelp out at every touch. "She's already beginning to slip in and out of consciousness. We need to lay her out flat." Caden looked up at the hunters, who both nodded their understanding. Caden and Sam both rolled Natalie onto her back, her cries had now died down now that she was halfway losing consciousness but her body was still twitching up a fuss.

"You two are gonna need to hold her down." Caden pulled up the sleeves of his shirt and this caused Sam and Dean to look at him warily.

"Whoah, wait a minute." Sam spoke up, raising his hand to Caden's chest as a protective act. "What are you going to do to her?"

"Her body is full of venom. I need to cleanse it."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Sam questioned again, testing the angel's patience.

"You'll see very soon. I need you two to hold her down though because it's not going to be a pleasant experience for her. In fact, it will be painful."

Sam and Dean's eyes widened at Caden's words. "Then there's no way in hell." Sam exclaimed. "She's already in enough pain as it is."

"Listen. I'm all that you two have right now. If you don't let me help her, she will not make it. I understand that she's already in pain, but this is the only way I can help her."

Natalie's entire body continued to shake, making it difficult for Sam and Dean to keep her under control. Her neck began to strain as she tried, desperately, to suck in air that her body was in need of and it was creating this, honestly, terrifying sound that was making Sam and Dean grow even more anxious. Eventually, the brothers nodded their consent, one after the other.

"Good." Caden nodded his approval and then focused his attention back on Natalie.

Taking in a breath, Caden placed one hand over the abrasion on Natalie's chest and the other on her forehead. An intense white light emanated from his palms and the source slowly absorbed into Natalie's skin, which then began to make her chest glow in a warm red color. The light streamed throughout her entire chest and slithered up her neck and down her arms, creating light trails that made her entire body glow. Natalie's eyes shot open and she sucked in a sharp breath, her body reacting accordingly, thrashing and trying to get out of Sam and Dean's hold.

Sam and Dean tightened down their holds on her, successfully in keeping her in a cocoon like position. The red light trickled up the sides of her cheeks, creating veins that then led into her eyes. Her pupils glowed an intense red and that was when Natalie finally let out a shriek, her arms tensed at her sides and her legs tried to kick out from under her, but it was stopped by Dean leaning some of his weight on them.

Natalie's screams grew louder, her chest beginning to change into a deeper red and as the color changed it seemed the pain was increasing as well. Natalie, because she couldn't move her body, resorted to belting out as much screams as she could. She couldn't move because of Sam and Dean, therefore, she couldn't try and alleviate the pain in anyway.

Caden's hands soon began to pulsate with red tinted veins, almost as if he was absorbing the venom from her bloodstream. Whatever he was doing, it was actually working, or at least that's what the brothers hoped for. The boys couldn't help their skepticism when it came to Caden, but if can actually help Natalie, then he has one point in their book. Not that they were going to trust him so easily, but, if he was telling the truth on helping Natalie whenever she needed it and he wasn't a threat, then what more could they have against him?

The red veins started to recede, beginning with Natalie's hands and they crept back up her arms. The red streams finally flowed away from her eyes, the red glowing in her pupils began to dim and the veins, that looked like tiny rivers, slowly came back to the red center on Natalie's chest. Caden pressed down slightly more on Natalie's chest, allowing the glow to slowly dissipate until there was no light. Nothing was left.

Natalie's eyes closed immediately and her head fell to the side. Sam, thinking that this wasn't a good sign, leaned closer to her, his hand gently tapping at her cheek. "Nad? Hey. Nad?"

"She's fine." Caden said, his breathing was heavy and labored. "She's just unconscious. She should wake up soon."

Dean looked down at Natalie and then back over at Caden. "Did it work? Is she going to be fine?"

Caden looked over at Dean, blinked a few times, then nodded his head. "She will be fine. I suggest, though, that you two get her back to a motel. She can't stay out here all night."

Sam, without any regard, quickly scooped Natalie up into his arms, stood up and walked over to the car, where the passenger door was still open and gently laid Natalie down on the backseat. Leaning back out, Sam looked over at Dean, who was standing on the opposite side of the car and gave him a look before both brothers turned their attentions on Caden.

The angel stumbled up to his feet, his eyes closed in an attempt for him to catch his breath and with a shrug of his shoulders, Caden seemed to be hardly effected by what he had just done. Freaking angels. Bending down, Caden picked up his coat and brushed off the loose grass that were sticking to the material before sliding it back on.

"I'm going to assume that you three were on your way to kill the creature." Caden said as he began to button up his coat. Both Sam and Dean only nodded their answers. "Get her back to town. I'll take care of it."

The brothers didn't breathe a word to Caden who, after giving them a new round of orders, turned away from them and Dean couldn't help himself. "Caden."

The angel paused and looked back at the hunters. Dean gave him a single nod. "Thanks. You saved her."

Caden nodded and stowed his hands in his coat pockets. "I told her that I would. No matter what. Take care of her, although, I don't think I need to tell you two that." Caden finished his sentence and quickly disappeared.

* * *

><p><em>There was no wind, nothing that could replace the sounds of gunshots, fists against skin and the menaced laced voice that breathed nothing but trouble for everyone. The place smelled like grass, dried grass with a mix of thick iron blood. It was slightly chilly and the sun was just creeping through the grey clouds and it matched almost perfectly to the scene that was unfolding before it.<em>

_Natalie felt a hand grab onto the collar of her jacket, yank her up to her feet then slam her up against the Impala. Lucifer heaved out hot breaths as his eyes trailed over her face and then a cynical smirk crossed his lips as his hand reached down for her knife, tucked away in her beltline. Pulling out the weapon, he trailed the blade down the side of her cheek, leaving a wake of goosebumps. Natalie's hand pushed weakly at his arms in a vain attempt to get his grip on her to loosen. _

_"He hasn't stopped thinking about you." _

_At the beginning of Lucifer's taunting, Natalie had to close her eyes, thinking that by sparing herself the visual of watching him say these words to her, it would dim the gut wrenching feeling that she had every time she thought about this. _

_"Not one second, because you are really special to him, aren't you?" _

_The grip on her jacket collar tightened, holding her in position as she tried to turn away from him. The sharp cold blade soon pierce her stomach and her eyes shot open with a painful gasp. Lucifer moved his hand from her collar to her chin and grabbed onto it with a tight and painful grasp, forcing her to keep her eye contact with him. _

_"Poor little Natalie. Having to live without your precious Sammy. Having to live with that kind of torment and pain." Lucifer twisted the blade causing Natalie to choke on her cry. "You poor pathetic thing. If only you didn't love so much." _

_Lucifer pulled out the knife and brought Natalie closer to him, so that he was able to have his lips right next to her ear. "That's a real pity. Because Sam here...he loves you." Lucifer could feel Natalie's body slump into him, hearing a desperate cry coming from the bleeding hunter. "Guess you should've said something, huh?" _

_Leaning away, Lucifer found himself staring at Natalie's tear stained face, her arms were hanging limply at her side and her eyes finally met his. Seeing a look of hopelessness and defeat, he couldn't help but allow his smirk to grow into a full on smile. Bringing the blade up to her throat, Lucifer made a quick slash against the skin..._

….

Natalie woke up with a start, sucking in a breath, she could feel herself lying in something soft, and her entire body ached. She could only describe it as feeling like one of those days where you wake up and your body just hurts, all over. Like you had done some kind of intense cardio workout the day before. Her neck, arms, back and legs were achingly stiff and her eyes felt like they were burning, not to mention that her head still felt like it weighed a ton.

She was lying on her side and she took this chance to try and open her eyes. Pulling at sensitive skin made this more of a chore than it should be. Natalie managed to bring up a sore hand to her face and she, lazily, rubbed at her eye lids, well enough to where she was able to blink them open afterwards. Facing the nightstand, she spotted her phone and she reached up to grab it, only to have her arm fall limply over the side of the bed. Groaning, Natalie tried again, this time her hand slammed down on the phone and she stiffly, pulled the phone onto the bed. Turning it on, Natalie peered down at the screen that read _12:30 p.m. _

She slept in. Not that it bothered her much. After not getting the best sleep for almost a week, Natalie couldn't argue that she felt a lot better. Well even though she still felt like shit, she didn't feel as bad as she had been for the past few days. Which brings her to another thought, what the hell happened? All she remembered was this really sharp pain while riding in the car and then everything after that seemed like a daze.

Natalie rolled onto her back, groaning as she pulled at an aching muscle, and braced her hands against the mattress and sorely, pushed herself up into a sitting position. Looking around the motel room, she saw that she was alone, the blinds were halfway closed. It wasn't until now though that Natalie discovered that she had been crying in her sleep. Fresh tear trails had marked down her cheeks and there were still tears escaping and she couldn't stop them. It was almost like she didn't have control of her tear ducts.

Natalie wiped lamely at her eyes to rid of the tears, but every time she did so, more would appear and she couldn't feel annoyed by it. Her dream, about Lucifer, that was probably the fourth time she's had that this entire week, but this was so personal. The other ones were just simply Lucifer doing whatever he wanted, but this, those words that she had to live with for over a year, they came back into play and the dream seemed so real to her.

Her hand gently rubbed at her chest, which seemed to spark her memory, as she gazed down at where the abrasion was, she saw that there was nothing. At any moment she would've been confused as hell, but as of right now, her emotions were driving her mood and what she wanted. She wanted to see Sam.

As if he could hear her thoughts, the motel room door open and Natalie looked over, seeing the amazing sight of Sam walking in. The look on his face when he saw her awake, forced Natalie to purse her lips together.

"Nad, are you alright?"

Natalie knew that question was being directed at her tear stained face. In an attempt to rid of it, Natalie wiped at her eyes and cheek, hoping to rid of the evidence. But, as Sam walked over to the side of the bed and sat down next to her, Natalie stopped, realizing that her attempts were futile.

Sam's eyes scanned over her face, his brows furrowed as to why she was crying. Pain? "Are you in any pain?"

Natalie shook her head and then limply shrugged her shoulders. "Kind of."

Sam pressed his lips into a line as he laid his hand on her forehead, satisfied that her high fever didn't come back, which was something Caden had told them might happen when he came to check on Natalie after taking care of the Timor.

"Well, your fever isn't back yet, so that's good." Sam pulled his hand away. "Caden was the one who helped you. That's why the abrasion on your chest is gone."

Natalie nodded, deep down she was ecstatic that she no longer had to go through that hell, but as of right now, it wasn't enough to hole she was feeling right now. Instead, Natalie leaned her forehead against Sam's shoulder and weakly wrapped her arms around his waist. She didn't feel her body relax until his arms were secured around her body, only then, Natalie allowed herself to sink closer into Sam, she moved her head up to she could rest her cheek against his shoulder and her eyes closed, feeling this sense of relief to being held by him.

But, just as Natalie felt herself relaxing into Sam's arms, Lucifer's words came swirling back into play again. Natalie tried desperately to keep the thoughts at bay, but this time they were more persistent. repeating themselves over and over again. Occupying every inch of her thoughts with these memories.

_"He loves you." _

Natalie gave a wince as the words suddenly hit her and her eyes squeeze tighter. _He loves you. _Natalie's arms around his waist tightened, not by much, but Sam could feel her arms twitching as if she was trying to and he in turn made his hold on her more secure. _He loves you. _Natalie's lips curled into a frown as Lucifer's harsh taunting was coming through full on. _He loves you. He loves you. __**He loves you.**_

Natalie twitched in Sam's arms and she let out a breath. "Do you love me?" Her question was simply something that managed to slip out. Whether it was intentional or not, Natalie wasn't quite sure, all she knew was that she said it.

Sam's body went tense, her question resonating in his mind and he swallowed hard. "What did you say?"

Natalie slowly opened her eyes, keeping them fixed on the motel room window, knowing that there was no way she could cover this up, though, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. Natalie took in a shaky breath and exhaled. "Do you love me?"

Hearing it again proved to be the solidifier for Sam. Having her repeat it only made him realize that what he had heard first time around was true. But, Sam was so stunned by Natalie's question. He had never expected her to ask that, though he was thinking himself naïve to even think that. Sam gently pulled Natalie away and braced his hand on the back of her head. Her eyes were still half shut from sleep and she looked like she was still out of it.

"Nad. I think that you're still a little dazed from last night." Sam answered, only half accepting this as the reasoning for her question.

Natalie was quick to shake her head. "No. I...I swear, I'm not dazed or anything. I know what I asked and I wanted to ask it." Her tired eyes focused on his. "Do you love me?"

His first round of initial shock had not yet waned and now having her look him in the eye, asking that question, Sam could honestly admit to himself that he was at lost for words. What could he say to her? He honestly didn't know.

"Nad. Why are you asking me this?" Sam asked, settling for this because he actually wanted an explanation as to why she would bring this up.

Natalie sighed and her body slumped in it's posture. "Because that's what Lucifer said to me."

At the mention of Lucifer, Sam furrowed his brows and his head tilted to the side. "What does Lucifer have to do with this?"

"When he was possessing you...and we were at that cemetery." Natalie began to explain, focusing her attention on the window. "Before he, I guess killed me, he told me that...he told me that you loved me." Natalie paused, allowing there to be some time for Sam to say something, but he never did, so she decided to go on. "I had to live with that...for over a year. Thinking whether it was true or not and knowing that I was never going to get an answer." Natalie ran a hand through her hair as she looked back over at Sam. "That particular memory has been coming back more frequently and I just...I want an answer. Maybe my mind can finally be at ease about it."

Sam nodded his understanding, he was still confused, but her explanation provided him the reasoning that he was looking for. But, still, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised that Natalie would just come out and ask it like that.

Seeing the confused look on his face, Natalie bit down on the side of her lips, deciding to test the waters even more. "Do you...even remember him saying that?"

Sam allowed his gaze to fall, as he went back through what he remember from that day, his head began to shake as each memory was sorted, nothing of that nature was there, but it sounded so familiar. "No. Nad...I...It sounds familiar and if I do have a memory of it, it's buried...I can't really pull it out."

Natalie scoffed out a painful breath. "You must think I'm crazy or something then."

"No, I don't. I know you wouldn't make up something like that."

"Well..." Natalie began, feeling like she was going to overstep a boundary soon or later. "Do you?"

This was something that Sam had not given really any thought to. When he got his soul back, he was hoping that he and Natalie would try and get back to how things were before he had jumped. And they managed to do that. But, as far as Sam remembered, what they had was just the beginning of something, it wasn't necessarily what he would call "love". They had to grow from where they left off and it was the formation of what could be a possible relationship.

"Nad." Sam slowly shook his head. "I don't know." The look on Natalie's face sent a tear through Sam. It seemed like she had been building herself up to either 'yes' or 'no', not, 'I don't know' and Sam couldn't help but feel guilty. But, that was his honest answer. He wasn't going to lie to her about something like this.

"I'm sorry, Nad, but, I really don't know." Sam could feel himself sink deeper into this guilt hole as Natalie inched away from him. Not knowing whether it was because she was mad at him or if she was mentally berating herself for even asking the question. Either way, Sam knew he needed to explain himself more.

"If you think I don't care about you, that's not true, because I do Nad. I really do care about you. And what I feel for you...I know that it's something. But, to call that...love...I'm not sure if I would. When I got my soul back, yeah, I hope that we would get back to how things were and we did. Nad, like you said, you had a whole year with that, to think on it...I didn't. I mean I was trapped in hell. I can't say that I really had any time to dwell on that. And Nad, I'm gonna be honest. I haven't had the best luck when it comes to women, that, and...this job...our lives...what we do. It doesn't exactly leave any kind of room for that."

"No, I know." Natalie said. "I know and this is not fair to you. It's just, that was something I thought about every day for a whole year. Thinking about whether it was true or not. And I just don't want to go on like this...wondering if there was something more. Sam, whatever this is, between us, I don't want it to turn into something that has no meaning. Because I know how it can go. You know, you act on your feelings with this person and you grow really close with them and then the next thing you know, you're screwing each other over and over again, senseless and then it all turns into nothing but meaningless sex."

Sam's eyes widened, not just at Natalie's words, but the anger she had behind them. The hurt that was so easily detectable in her tone was heart wrenching, to Sam's ears. "Nad." Sam began, having to take a quick pause to really take on the full grasp of Natalie's words. "That is _not _what this is between us. I would never..."

"I know." Natalie quickly interrupted, knowing she had already said to much. "It's just...that's how it can go.

Yet, Sam could feel himself become curious as to why Natalie sounded so angry when she spoke about that. "Did you go through something like that?" Sam timidly asked.

Natalie stared at Sam, no anger at him was found, but Sam could see that there was something else hiding behind her eyes. Something that she kept within the very dark recesses of her mind. Things that Sam had yet to know about her and perhaps he would never know about her. Natalie sniffed and broke her gaze from him, the act itself nearly gave Sam his answer.

"I just don't want that to happen." Natalie finally said. "I don't want this to turn into something that becomes a mistake or a regret."

"Yeah. I understand." Sam nodded.

He felt so conflicted about all of this. First off, his own confusing feelings that he was trying to sort out and Natalie's little ran had gotten his curiosity way up. Though, he admitted, it was none of his business. If Natalie didn't want him to know, then he wasn't going to drill into her about it. But, that didn't quench his small want to know what she was talking about and yet, he couldn't help but feel anger. The very thought of her going through something like that was building a kind of rage that Sam hadn't experienced in quite some time.

Sam looked back up at Natalie, seeing that she was, purposefully, avoiding his gaze now. Whether it was looking down at her hands or staring at the motel window, Natalie was trying her absolute best to not have to look him directly in the eye and Sam couldn't help but feel a little hurt by it.

"Do you?" Sam finally asked, willing him to garner Natalie's attention. "Do you...you know..."

Natalie only had to think on it for a moment and her gaze fell. She knew exactly how she felt, she had the benefit of a whole year to think about it. "I asked you...not to say yes to Lucifer because I knew...that I wouldn't be able to handle losing you. I promised you, that I would try and lead a normal life and to give up hunting, even though I screwed that part up."

Natalie bit down on her lip and wringed her hands together. "For a whole year, I grieved...for you. It almost seemed like I lost a sense of who I was and I couldn't get it back...I don't think I ever can. I stood by your side, while you were soulless, no matter how difficult it got. I died...so that I could strike a deal to get your soul out of the cage and I agreed to be Death for one day to get it back. And that was one of the...worst experiences of my life."

Natalie looked back up at Sam, seeing a whole concoction of different emotions that were emanating from his face. Guilt, being the biggest one that she could point out. "You're asking me if I love you? Of course I do."

Letting out a huff, Natalie washed a hand down her face. "But, I don't want my answer...to affect how you really feel. Sam, if we have to, then we need to stop whatever it is that's going on between us. Because I don't want to continue on with it, when we aren't on the same page and knowing, that I'm going to want more...and I won't get it." Natalie shook her head, a few of her tears finally escaping. "I can't do that to myself."

Sam couldn't nod his understanding, he just felt to numb by all of this. This was something that he expected to happen, perhaps, a little bit more down the road. Not this time. Not after Natalie just got over this venom infection. But, if this had been bothering her for so long, he was, lack of a better word, glad that it was finally out. But, now he couldn't but feel that this was going to make things awkward for them. Though, it was only going to be awkward if they both made it that way and knowing the two of them, that most likely will happen.

"I just need some time Nad." Sam finally answered and was met with Natalie's little nod.

"Then, I'll give you the time you need." Natalie began to settle herself down onto the bed, pulling the covers close to her bed. "I think I need to sleep just a little more." Natalie hoped that Sam would allow the conversation to drop it here. The more she thought about it, she felt incredibly stupid for just bringing the subject up like that.

Sam blinked and cleared his throat. "Yeah. Go ahead. We're in no rush to leave."

Sam stood up from the bed and watched as Natalie closed her eyes. Taking this as his cue, Sam walked around the bed and over to the door. Stopping once his hand was on the handle, Sam spared a look back at Natalie's form, his mind buzzing with her words and his desperate mentality trying to sort out how he felt about all of this. Turning back to the door, Sam closed his eyes momentarily, allowing himself to settle himself with a deep breath, before exiting the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay before you guys get mad the scene between SamNad HAD to go down that route. I already know that Natalie loves Sam, but he has a different mindset. Deep down, he does love her, but it's a matter of his own acceptance of that and I feel like he wouldn't accept it just on the spot like that. He needs time to fully search his feelings and come to a conclusion on whether he loves Nad or not. He will come to his senses I promise but until then LOVE ANGST! AT LEAST HE KNOWS SHE LOVES HIM! I GET PROPS FOR THAT...RIGHT?**

**Anyways, there's a poll on my profile that I would like for you guys to take. It's short and easy and I would really like your input on it. So make sure to go check that out. **

**Also don't forget! The link to my Natalie Collins blog is up on my profile as well. I have all of the face claims for my oc's posted, although their bios still need to be written out. So make sure to go and check out the blog!**

**Until next time! Xx**


	34. Chapter 34

_A/N: Okay so here's the thing, I am REALLY not to find of this chapter. This went through a lot of revision and even now, I wasn't happy with the turnout, but I wanted to get a new chapter up for you guys. I hope that it's still decent enough. Now there are two things that I wanted to tell you all. _

**_First, _**_**I have changed my name on fanfiction. **__I don't know why I did, I just felt like it was a good idea. So now, I have an official pseudonym on here YAY_

_**Second,** I am trying to put together a playlist for these stories and I wanted you guys to help on that. So, if there is any songs you know of that goes with these stories, send them to me and I'll add them. Just thought it would be a cool thing to do._

_So now let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Why does there always have to be some kind of complication when it comes to relationships? Always. No matter how well the two people get along with each other, there's always something that happens that screws up everything. Or you could be in the other end of the boat, before anything gets to serious, someone manages to screw up. It always seems to happen. That's what Sam kept on asking himself over and over again. Since Natalie's confession, it had all gone down the road of total awkwardness and that was something both were hoping to avoid. Unfortunately, they both allowed to let it get the better of them.<p>

Sam didn't even put up any kind of argument about Natalie wanting to be dropped off at Clara's. One, she said that Clara actually wanted to see her, but Sam knew that the massive underlining for this was what happened back at Fort Collins. Usually, Sam and Dean would've tagged along with Natalie, and Dean was all for it, until Sam told him not to.

"Just take us to Bobby's." Sam instructed his brother, much to Dean's confusion, he ultimately did what Sam told him to do.

Being the observant one that Dean was, he could tell that there was something going on between Natalie and Sam, and it wasn't a good thing. By the way they pretty much avoided each other. Not looking at one another, even when Dean was engaging in conversation with both of them, they seemed to be out of it, waiting for the other to respond before saying anything. He didn't really know why, but it really irked Dean, having to sit there and watch these two acting like a couple of young teenagers in high school, trying to dodge their 'crushes'. He thought that these two were past that, but apparently not.

On the drive back Dean had tried getting Sam to talk to him, thinking that it would open the possibility that Sam would spill out what was going on with him and Natalie. Of course, Dean got nothing from his younger brother. Dean, in his own slight frustration with these two, pulled the car over to the side of the road and practically forced Sam to tell him what was going on. Sam and Natalie weren't the only ones who had to deal with their own nonsense, Dean was put through it as well, and he wanted an explanation.

Sam, at first, was heavily reluctant on telling his brother anything. It wasn't really any of Dean's business. Why should he have to know everything that was going on between him and Natalie? Everything that Natalie and Sam talked about and what went on between them, that was their business alone and no one else's. Of course, Dean wasn't having any of that, he didn't want to know the entirety, just something that would give him an answer to it all. Sam eventually just spilled out to Dean what happened back in Colorado.

….

_Dean continued to stare at Sam, allowing for time to go by before his words finally sank in. Then all of it started making sense. The awkwardness, Natalie and Sam trying their best to avoid each other. "Well...what did you say to her? After she...you know, told you." _

_Sam sighed heavily and shrugged. "I told her I didn't know." _

_Dean's brows raised at his brother, leaning a little closer to him. "You...you told her what? You told her you didn't know?" _

_"Yeah. That's what I said." _

_Dean made a face and sighed, more for the fact that he felt sorry for Natalie, and Sam, to a certain extent. "Oh man...Sam. Am I going to have to give you one of those pep talks again? Because I thought we were past that. You know, me giving you advice on girls." _

_"You don't have to give me advice on anything Dean." Sam retorted. _

_"Oh, but it seems like I have to. I mean, come on Sammy. Nad pours out practically how she feels about you and you know that's not what Nad is like and your response is, I don't know." _

_Sam looked over at his brother and gave him another shrug. "That's exactly how I feel Dean. I don't know if I do." _

_"Oh, see now that's where I think you're wrong, because, I think you do know how you feel, but you just don't want to accept it." _

_Sam closed his eyes and scoffed. "Don't start going down the deep feelings route." _

_"That's exactly what I'm seeing Sam. What else did you tell her?" _

_"I told her that, our lives didn't make room for having relationships and also not to mention my...unlucky history with women." Sam finished as he quickly cleared his throat._

_"So..." Dean began, processing Sam's words. "You're saying that you don't think you can't actually be with her?" _

_Sam shrugged his shoulders and nodded. "I guess I am." _

_"That's something else I don't agree with." Dean answered. _

_Sam could only roll his eyes again and sighed. "You just like disagreeing with everything I say, don't you?" _

_"Well, except this time, I seriously believe that you're wrong." Dean answered, looking over at his brother and saw him scoff. "I mean think about it Sam. Nad isn't like any other woman that you've been with and I honestly think you two could make it work."_

_Sam nodded, his doubt still dripping from his expression. "And why do you think that?"_

_"Why?" Dean raised his brows at his brother's question. "You really don't have any kind of sense in that do you?" Dean could see Sam's expression falter slightly. "It's because Nad lives the same kind of life we do. She's a hunter. She knows how to defend herself, she knows how to fight. Hell, she survived a whole year without us. Nad knows the risks that being a hunter brings. Now I'm not saying you two are going to have the normal apple pie, white picket fence life. But, at least, you both understand the stakes and you both know what life we all live in. You'll be able to compromise. Now it's all about whether_ you_ will allow yourself to accept how you really feel." _

_Sam let out a faint laugh and looked down at his feet. "You know sometimes I think about where you get all of this from." _

_"I get it from experience Sammy." Dean replied and Sam could hear the small smile in his brother's tone. "But, if you really don't feel the same way...then you two are gonna need to stop this...whatever is going on between you two, because, you're only gonna end up hurting each other." _

…_._

Sam could have easily just allowed his brother's advice to slip through and be lost, but he didn't. He actually allowed himself to think on what Dean had told him and with that, he thought a lot about what he felt. Did he really love her? Perhaps, maybe, really deep down, Sam did, however, those particular feelings were not making themselves known. Sam's own stubbornness was forbidding him from actually seeing what was clear as day. It was almost like his mind was trying to prevent him from having to get hurt all over again. If you really think about it, Sam's history with women is not the most reliable reassurance that he can have a successful relationship and that's what he's most afraid of. That he will finally allow himself this one thing and that it will be stripped away from him...Natalie would be taken away from him. That was something he couldn't live through.

Although, Sam couldn't argue with what Dean said, about Natalie and how she was hunter. She was now submerged into this kind of life, not from a young child, but she's been in it long enough to know every inch of this job. Natalie was more than capable of taking care of herself, and yet, Sam still worried. He knew that it was pointless, but, that's his nature. Sam was someone who worried constantly, regardless of how well put off the person was. Natalie was no exception. Neither was Dean or Bobby for that matter. To put it into a shorter explanation, he cared and worried to much, that was Sam Winchester.

Either way, simmering in his thoughts as he sat at Bobby's desk, Sam couldn't help but feel himself overwhelmed by all of it. That day, back in Fort Collins was replaying over and over again. The look on Natalie's face upon hearing his answer, it was seared into his mind and he couldn't get rid of it.

_Why does this have to be so damn complicated?_

_Because _you're _the one making it complicated._

Sam's thoughts continuously went back and forth with each other, one side keeping up that tangible wall of stubbornness. While the other side, the part of him that wasn't oblivious, was battering him, trying to get Sam to accept how he really felt. It was a constant tug-o-war going on in his head and it was bringing on a headache. Then, to add to all of that, there was still all of this research Sam, Dean and Bobby were trying to get done on how to get rid of Eve and so far, nothing. The three of them were stumped and Sam was actually quite glad. Trying to cram in this whole Eve thing, along with his relationship complications, wasn't really sitting right with him.

Sam was jostled out of his senses as Dean slammed down a closed book in front of him on Bobby's desk, while idly twirling a glass around in his other hand. "Well, I got nothing from this book. What about you?"

Sam looked down at the book his hand was resting on and he shrugged up at Dean, who ticked his head to the side. "I'd figure as much." He answered, as he refilled his glass.

"Got nothing from this either." Bobby came trudging into the room and sat down at his chair, placing the book down in front of him. "Nothing that gives us any kind of lore or facts about how to stop Eve."

Dean finished his drink in a quick swig and cringed slightly as the substance slid down his throat and gave a satisfied sigh. "Is there any other kind of resource that we can exhaust?"

"I tried calling around. No one's got a clue on how to stop the mother of all."

Dean grimaced and shook his head. "So much for that."

Sam tapped his finger on the book, his brows creased at his deep pondering and he took in a breath, ready to talk. "I think I might actually have something we can use."

Dean looked curiously at his brother, though it was also mixed of relief, like Sam had just answered all the problems in the world, which he kind of did, in a way. "What's that?"

"Samuel." Sam started as he looked up at Dean, seeing the stern look on his face at even hearing the name. "I remember something that he talked about. Something about a private library."

"I thought you weren't supposed to be remembering anything?" Dean questioned quickly.

Sam sighed. "It's not harmful. I remember him mentioning something about it, but he never actually showed it to me. At least, not from what I remember."

"Okay, so you think gramps had something that could help us stop Eve?"

Sam shrugged limply. "It wouldn't hurt to try and find out. Right?"

Dean thought on the proposition, they had exhausted all that Bobby had available at his house and no other hunter was able to give them anything. It really couldn't hurt. Dean eventually shrugged and set his glass down. "I guess were going back to the old man's manor."

"I guess so." Sam quietly answered as he stood up from his chair.

"Oh!" Dean quickly said and pointed at Sam, who was looking at him with slightly widened eyes. "You think maybe you should call Nad? She might want to tag along with whole Eve stuff. Besides, we haven't seen her in over a week."

Sam's expression faltered and he pursed his lips together, a sense of nervousness washed over him and Dean narrowed his eyes softly at him. "Uh. Yeah, I guess...we should...call her." Sam sporadically answered.

Dean and Sam stood in place, staring at each other, though Sam seemed to be off in some kind of mental trance and Dean raised his brows at his brother. "Well?" His question did the trick, Sam blinked several times and looked at Dean. "You gonna call her?"

"Yeah." Sam breathed out and hastily pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed out her number.

* * *

><p>Natalie pulled her knees closer to her chest and closed her eyes, hanging her head back slightly as another gust of sea wind brushed against her face. The smell of the salt water, calming noise of the waves washing up onto the sand and the sound of seagulls around her. This was peace, always had been and always will be.<p>

Opening her eyes, Natalie found herself, once again, staring out into the ocean's horizon. The skies were not clear, but cloudy and grey, with just a little bit of the sun peaking through and she breathed out a slow sigh, then rested her chin on her knees.

Natalie had been here for just little over a week. That day, she told Sam and Dean to drop her off at Clara's, saying that she needed to see Natalie about something. Well, that was partially a lie...actually it was a lie. Natalie couldn't stand being continuously suffocated by this awkward tension that was going on between her and Sam. She needed to get away from it. At least, just for a little while, until it was clear enough to where she and Sam could go on without being weird around each other.

The minute they left, Natalie only stayed with Clara for maybe a few hours, then packed her bags in her car and drove. At first, she had no idea where she was going to go. It was almost like she was on auto pilot and the next thing she knew, she was back in Dennis. Natalie, at first, was about to drive right back out, not thinking she could handle being back here, all on her own. But, when she finally stepped out of her car and felt herself in that familiar setting, she couldn't leave. She had to stay.

The main reason that she left Sam and Dean in the first place was, yes, to get away from all that tension, but she wanted time to actually gather her own thoughts. The way that Natalie just blurted out to Sam, asking him if he loved her, it bothered Natalie. So much so, that she couldn't stop berating herself for doing it. She felt incredibly stupid for what she had done. There was a time for everything and Natalie just couldn't help but feel like, that wasn't the time for her to drill into Sam about that particular subject.

Yet, she didn't stop herself from asking him. Natalie simply allowed it to happen. Now, that was something she had been debating with herself for the past week. How much of that was really _her_? And, how much of it was the result of being intoxicated with Timor venom and dealing with the after affects of the cleansing Caden did on her? A part of her, tried desperately, to convince herself that she was just delirious. It was just the healing fever that was making her talk, but the more Natalie analyzed it, she came to the conclusion. She had asked him on her own free will. Nothing was influencing her, aside from the constant memory of Lucifer's decree to her, she was solely 'sober' when blurting out the question.

No matter how bad or stupid she felt, Natalie couldn't change it and honestly, she didn't know if she wanted to. For over a year, she's had to live with that and the finality of how she felt about Sam. Then she found out he was alive, but soulless, that meant more time to keep it hidden. It was just threatening to spill out sooner or later and Natalie was just glad that it was out of the way. That's how she felt at least under all of this self hate she had going on.

Natalie gave a slight jump when she heard her phone ringing. Reaching down into her coat pocket, Natalie pulled out her phone and looked at the caller I.D., immediately freezing once she read the name. Sam. Taking in a breath, she closed her eyes and answered the phone, then slowly placed the phone up to her hear.

"Hey."

_"Hey." _Sam's voice came through the other end, hesitant and little quieter than what she was normally used to.

Natalie dug her hand into the sand, idly playing with the grains when she finally realized that they had been sitting in silence since she answered the call. Clearing her throat, she was able to break that. "So, what's up?"

_"Oh. Um. So, Dean and I have been at Bobby's, trying to find anything that could help us get rid of Eve." _

Natalie rested her arm on top of her knees and leaned forward. "And what did you guys find?"

_"Nothing." _Natalie sighed in her own disappointment. _"But, I think I might have something that can gives us some answers. We're gonna head out to Samuel's place, see if there's anything we can find there and we were thinking maybe you'd want to tag along." _

Natalie wiped her hands on her pants and stood up. "Yeah, sure, um, it's gonna take me a while to get there though."

_"Aren't you with Clara? If you are, it shouldn't take that long." _

Natalie bit down on her lip as she took a quick glance around her. "I'm not exactly...with her right now."

_"Is everything alright?" _

Natalie couldn't help but smile faintly at the slight worry she could hear in his worry. "Yeah. Everything's fine. But, like I said, it's gonna take me a little longer to get there."

_"Okay, well, I guess we'll just wait for you then." _

At this point, Natalie was already off the beach and walking back towards the lot where her car was parked. "Yeah, okay. I'll try and get there as fast as I can."

_"Okay. See you then." _

Natalie stopped near her car, the phone still up to her ear, even though there was nothing but silence. Honestly, she didn't know whether Sam was still on the line with her. If we was, then this was just creating a whole new layer of awkwardness. Natalie went to say something and ultimately, resulted to pulling the phone away and ending the call. It would've just made it all the more awkward if she tried to make more conversation. She just wanted to get there was fast as she could.

"Glad to see you up on your feet again."

Natalie slowly turned around, seeing Caden and she gave him a very quick and faint smile. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Well, things, have been a little more than challenging lately." Caden answered as he took a few steps towards her.

"Let me guess." Natalie looked down at the keys in her hands, tossing them a couple of times. "Heaven is becoming more and more of a hassle to get under control."

"It is not just trying to get it under control. It has been total anarchy up there. The resilience from both sides are just creating more chaos. Castiel and Raphael's followers are determined and stubborn. The perfect ingredients needed to create an absolute bloodbath."

Natalie cinched her lips to the side and nodded her sympathy and understanding. "That must be difficult for you to witness. And yet, you still chose a side, even when you told me that you weren't on one."

Caden's expression turned pensive, his eyes glanced past Natalie towards the ocean. "I guess I knew it was time. The retaliation was becoming too much. I had to pick a side, though at the time, I didn't really think much on my decision."

"Well, if it means anything, I think choosing Cas was the best decision you could go with."

Caden ticked a visible wince, clearly, he didn't really agree with Natalie on that point. "Regardless of who I follow, I am still betraying one of my brothers. They always told me of how loyal I was, yet, look at what I'm doing."

"Hey, don't do that to yourself." Natalie spoke up. "You know, sometimes, you have to stick it to your family, no matter what. This whole civil war in Heaven, if it really is getting out of hand, then you need to do whatever you can to end it. Even it if means betraying one of your brothers."

"I suppose." Caden sighed, his eyes finding themselves, once again, on Natalie. "Well, Castiel said that he was working on a way to get us more tactic to defeat Raphael."

At this, Natalie ticked her head to the side, her brows furrowing in curiosity. "Really? Cas has a plan?"

Caden nodded, though, he couldn't help but notice the confused look on Natalie's face. "You look puzzled by this."

"Well, he hasn't said anything to us." Natalie answered and was only met with a stare from Caden."Did he tell you anything?"

"No. Just that he needed more time to sort out his options. Whatever this plan he has, I'm pretty sure that he'll go through with it."

Natalie nodded then folded her arms over her chest. "And yet, he hasn't said anything about it. I mean, usually, when Cas has some kind of idea he usually says something. Especially, with this whole war thing, he's been informing us on it."

"I could only surmise that he wants to make sure that it will actually work before he goes off, rattling it to everyone."

"Yeah, I guess."

Natalie was immediately swept away into her own thinking. She felt it was just a little to odd, knowing Castiel, that he would keep that from them. Well, like Caden said, Castiel was still trying to figure out he logistics himself, but that still didn't rid of this nagging feeling that Natalie had. She just hoped that Castiel wasn't planning on doing something stupid. That was the last thing that needs to happen.

"Why are you here and not with the Winchesters?" Caden's question brought Natalie's attention back to him.

Her lips pursed and she let out a sigh. "Oh, it's nothing, just felt like taking a trip."

Caden nodded, his eyes scanning over her, knowing that she was lying, but he decided not to question it any further. "Then why this location?"

"It's uh, where I use to live." Natalie took another glance at the scenery and she was able to see that tide was starting to come in as bigger waves, making her glad that she left the beach when she did. "I haven't been here in a long time, so I thought it would do me good if I just came back, see how the place was doing."

Caden narrowed his eyes softly at her, the look he had, it was almost like he could read what she was thinking and Natalie honestly wouldn't be surprised if he actually could do that. "I would say that something happened with the Winchesters."

"No." Natalie quickly answered. "Yeah, I guess, but it's fine now. I was actually just about to head back over to where they were. Sam said that they might have something that could key us in on how to get rid of Eve."

"Eve?" Caden's brows creased.

"You know about her?"

"Very much so. Not that I've actually encountered her before, but she was a figure that was discussed amongst my brothers and I. She's actually out from Purgatory?"

"Yeah." Natalie turned halfway towards the car door. "She's been out for a while now. We just haven't been able to find any kind of useful information. You wouldn't happen to have anything, would you?"

"Eve wasn't something that I knew much about. Just, stories, that were passed through angel to angel. But, if I do find out something, I'll come and find you."

Natalie nodded and flashed a quick smile before turning to the car. "Oh!" Natalie paused and turned back around. "By the way, I never got to-" She stopped when she saw that Caden was gone and she let out a sigh. "Never got to say thank you."

* * *

><p>Natalie parked her car outside the Campbell compound and she stepped out, shoving the keys into her pocket, she shut the car door and walked over to the door. She had called Sam earlier, saying that she was close and was only told by him that the three of them would meet her there. Natalie had to assure Sam that she remembered where the location was.<p>

Looking up at the building, Natalie shivered, she never like how this place made her feel. First, it held to many memories about Samuel and even Sam's whole soulless deal. After that ordeal, Natalie thought that she would never have to come back here again, she never felt welcomed. Then to hear that this was where she had to meet them, Natalie admitted she had her fair share of internal groans on the drive here.

Opening the door, which made a deathly creaking noise, Natalie slipped in and carefully closed it, although despite her efforts, it still made a loud noise. Wiping her hands on her pants, Natalie walked further into the room, thinking that it was strange to see this place so empty and quiet.

"Guys?" Natalie called out.

Dean appeared out of a doorway, which Natalie recognized as being Samuel's office and he motioned her over. "Nad. In here."

Natalie quickly made her way over to the door and walked in, seeing Bobby and Sam searching around the room for...something. "So, uh, what's going on?"

"Sam here." Bobby started as he stepped towards the middle of the room, his eyes scouting the place. "...says there's a library here that might be able to help us out."

"Wait, so you're having more flashbacks?" Natalie questioned, prompting Sam to stop and look back at her.

"Kind of." Seeing Natalie's reaction Sam raised his hand in a calming gesture. "Don't worry. It's not like full on flashbacks, just glimpses."

"That still doesn't exactly make me feel any better." Natalie answered. "So, I'm guessing by the way you two are wandering about the room, you still have no clue where it's at."

"Well..." Sam paused as he looked around the room and then made a face. "Not exactly. Trying to remember."

Natalie pursed her lips to the side, her eyes scanning around the room as she turned towards the opposite wall. "Well, most likely it's a private library right?"

Bobby and Sam both hummed their agreement.

"Okay, then." Natalie dropped her arms to her side and walked over to Samuel's desk which was settled in the middle of the room and braced her hands on the top.

"If it's a private library, he would put it somewhere..." Natalie's eyes scanned over the area around her and over the walls. "...he would put it somewhere that he felt no one would think of looking." As her gaze fell to the floor, her foot pressed down on the paneling near the desk and produced some creaking noises. Kneeling down, she knocked around the bottom of the desk and then began to glide her hand around the area, feeling an outlining on the floor, her hand was tracing out what seemed to be a door.

Smiling to herself, Natalie stood up and grabbed hold of the desk and pulled back, scooting the furniture away from the spot. Once it was a good few feet away, Natalie straightened her back and smiled. "Like maybe right here."

Sam, Bobby and Dean both share a few glances as they walked over to Natalie as she knelt back down and pulled out a lever then opened up a trap door. Dean looked back at Natalie and gave her a nod. "Nice job Nad."

"Thank you." Natalie cheekily answered as she dusted her hands off.

Dean walked up to the door and shined his flashlight in, revealing a small set of wooden stairs that led into a rather small library.

"Guess, I'll be going first." Dean said back at the three of them before taking the steps down. Bobby, Sam and Natalie were following closely behind and once reaching the bottom of the steps, Natalie looked around her and gave a scoff.

"Not much of a private library." Natalie walked over to the desk and flipped through the pages of a random book that was left open.

"Okay, well, the three of us should divvy up. See what we can find." Bobby offered.

Abandoning her search through the book, Natalie wandered over to one of the shelves and skimmed through the titles that were imprinted on the binds. Letting out a sigh, Natalie reached for a random book and pulled out one that was something on werewolves and then placed it back. Next to the one she put back, Natalie spotted a book that didn't have anything written on the bind and she pulled out the book.

Flipping through the pages, Natalie was able to gather quite quickly that it held information on...well actually a lot of different things. It wasn't just one subject, there were things in here about ghosts, vampires, and creatures she has never even heard of. Regardless, Natalie continued to flip through the pages and yet, the whole time, she could feel like someone was watching her.

Clearing her throat, Natalie looked over and saw Sam, standing near one of the other shelves, his eyes on her and then in a split second, he broke his gaze. Natalie didn't know whether to laugh at it or feel completely horrible. Although, she was surprised, there wasn't really any awkwardness between her and Sam, now it was just, tension. And she didn't know which was worse.

Looking back down at the book, Natalie decided that staying focused on this, would help ease some of that away. Flipping towards the middle of the page, Natalie came across a page that was labeled with the word 'Phoenix' in large cursive writing. Natalie read through the writing, having to reread certain sentences, the writing wasn't all that great. Reaching towards the bottom of the page, Natalie raised her brows.

"Ah!" She called out which startled the three other hunters. Turning to them, with a huge smile on her face, Natalie could see their eyes were wide. "I found it." Walking over to the table, she placed the book down. "A Phoenix."

Dean, Bobby and Sam all around the desk, their eyes glued on the book, then each of them, one at a time, looked up at Natalie, their expression turned to expectant. Natalie sighed and pushed the book towards the middle of the table.

"We're trying to find a way to stop Eve, right?" Natalie pointed to the page. "A Phoenix is our way of doing just that. Ashes of a Phoenix to be more specific. That's the only way we can get rid of her or burn her, that's how the reading describes it." She looked up at them, seeing the realization dawning on them.

"What the hell is a Phoenix? Like the bird?" Dean asked.

Natalie shook her head and leaned away from the table. "The reading didn't say exactly what it was, which means, we all need to look around for anything. So, get looking."

The four hunters turned back to their respective shelves, pulling out one book after the other, searching through the contents, anything that mentioned Phoenix and Eve. Though, early in their searching they were met with nothing. Natalie pulled out several books, piled them into her arms and walked over to the table, setting them down towards the middle, grabbed one before sitting down in her chair.

Natalie was engrossed at the act of flipping through page after page that she paid no attention to the fact that Sam was having a hard time focusing on his reading. He would read maybe only a few sentences and then his gaze would trail back up to her and they would remain there. To be honest, he couldn't even remember what he read a minute ago, his thoughts were so jumbled with this back and forth conflict that was still plaguing his mind.

Sighing in his own internal frustration, Sam leaned towards the table, setting down the book and rested his forehead against his hand as he tried, desperately, to get his focus back on reading. Natalie allowed her eyes to wander up and she scanned over his body, seeing the tension that was built in his shoulders and her lips pursed. Seriously, it was because of _her _that Sam was like? All tense, not able to concentrate. Well, that just made her feel even more bad.

"Guys. Hey. I think I actually might have something." Dean spoke up.

Natalie turned in her seat and looked over at Dean. Dean holds up the book, so that it is leveled with his sight and began to read. "March 5, 1861. Sunrise, Wyoming. Gun killed a Phoenix today. Left a pile of smoldering ash."

"What kind of gun?" Sam asked.

"The Colt."

"Colt?" Sam raised his brows. "Colt as in like-"

"Like the Colt. From..." Dean flipped the book over, a huge grin plastered on his face. "Samuel Colt's journal."

"That's his!" Sam breathed out and then reached over. "Let me see."

Dean immediately retracted and gave Sam a look. "Get your own."

"Okay, before you two get all toddler possessive over this thing..." Natalie leaned up in her seat and tossed the book onto the table. "Did he write down what exactly a Phoenix is?"

Dean skimmed through the selection again and shook his head. "No."

Sam washed his hands down his face and groaned. "Okay, well, we're just gonna have to find our own Phoenix."

"Well, I know where we can find one." Dean quipped. "March 5 1861. Sunrise, Wyoming. We'll Star Trek IV this bitch."

Sam looked up at Dean and shrugged his shoulders, prompting Dean to give him a look.

"I only watched Deep Space nine." Bobby answered.

Dean switched his gaze between Sam and Bobby. "It's like I don't even know you two. Star Trek IV. Save the whales."

"I'm more of a Wrath of Khan person." Natalie spoke up her side.

"Are you kidding?" Dean looked over at Natalie, his eyes slightly widened. "Star Trek IV, that is like one of the ultimate classics in the Star Trek movies."

Natalie furrowed her brows and tilted her head. "Oh, I'm not saying it wasn't a good movie. But, you wanna talk about a classic Star Trek film. That goes to Wrath of Khan."

Dean slightly shook his head.

Natalie scoffed loudly. "Are you kidding me? You're gonna choose them saving some whales over Khan? That movie defined the Star Trek movie series. I mean come on, that classic scene between Spock and Kirk, when Spock was dying?"

Dean's lips pursed to the side.

"I have been and always shall be, your friend. Live Long and Prosper. Nothing can top that!"

"Okay!" Sam quickly interrupted the small debate going on and cleared his throat. "Before you two rip at each other's throats, how exactly are we going to pluck up the Phoenix from 1861?"

"Time travel." Dean's simplistic answer caused Sam to scoff. "We got a guy you can help us swing it, so it can work." Dean stood up from his chair and rubbed his hands together. "Castiel. Uh, the fate of the world is in the balance. So, uh, come on down here. Come on, Cas. I dream of Jeannie your ass down here. Let's go."

"Who's Jeannie?"

The four hunters looked over and saw Caden, giving Dean a very confused look. Dean pressed his lips together and cleared his throat. "Uh, nothing. So, why are you here? Where's Cas?"

"Castiel is...indisposed right now. Asked me to be at your assistance."

"Who the hell are you?" Bobby suddenly asked.

Natalie looked over at Bobby and pressed her tongue against her cheek. "Right." She said as she stood up from her seat. "Bobby, this is Caden. Caden, that's Bobby."

"When did you meet this one?"

"It's kind of a long story. I'll explain later." Natalie offered.

"Now, what exactly do you need help with?"

Dean nodded. "Right. Well, we found a way to rid of Eve."

Caden raised a brow. "How?"

"We need ashes from a Phoenix." Sam answered.

"And we just read an entry in the journal of Samuel Colt, saying how a Phoenix was killed back in Sunrise, Wyoming on March 5 1861." Dean added.

"And what does this have to do with you asking for help from Castiel?"

"Well, we need you to zap us back there. That way we can be there when this Phoenix gets killed and we can get the ashes. Bam. Eve is dead." Dean answered simplistically.

"You want me to send you back to 1861. You know that is a very risky thing to do?" Caden asked his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yeah. But it's the only shot that we have. There is no information that we could find to tell us what exactly a Phoenix is, which means, we can't just go out and hunt for one." Dean quickly explained.

Caden finally nodded and sighed. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Natalie peered out from the wall in the kitchen, watching as Bobby and Caden interacted with each other, not with the most activity, but they had exchanged a few words and that was something she would take above anything else. Well, actually now, it was mostly Caden examining the room while Bobby eyed him warily.<p>

Natalie cinched her lips to the side, keeping an eye on the two of them. Sam walked in through the front door, immediately catching Natalie standing behind the wall and he walked up behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Natalie jumped and turned to him, clearing her throat. "Just making sure that Bobby and Caden are...tolerating each other. Though..." Natalie looked back into the room. "Bobby looks like he just wants to go all out on him."

"Well, Bobby doesn't know him. Can't say I blame him. That's how Dean and I felt when we first learned about him."

"Yeah, about that." Natalie looked back at him. "How are you two with him? I mean you both were really on the fence about him."

Sam shrugged. "We were, but...after he helped you back in..." Sam paused his eyes looking over at Natalie, who was thinking the same thing. "At Fort Collins, I guess we can give him a little bit of leverage."

"I'm glad about that. The last thing I want is for there to be all of this tension between the three of you. Although, Bobby, I think, is gonna take some time for him to come around."

Sam looked at Natalie curiously. "You haven't told him about how you met Caden?"

"Not yet." Natalie shook her head. "I was thinking once we get this plan rolling, I'll tell him about what happened. As of right now, I just wanted the two of them to familiarize themselves with each other."

"And how do you think that went?"

"Not well." Natalie answered.

Sam put on a small smile as he observed the scene with Caden and Bobby one more time before switching his gaze back over to Natalie. He was debating whether to bring up the subject or to just leave it alone. Yet, he couldn't help himself and he knew that he was going to tread into some heavy waters.

"Hey, Nad."

Natalie turned to Sam, the expectant look in her eyes honestly made Sam hesitate for a moment.

"Listen, I think that maybe we should try and talk about...you know."

Natalie's stance changed immediately. Her arms folded over her chest and her shoulder tensed and Sam was noticing that she was trying not to keep eye contact with him.

"You sure now is really the best time to talk about that?"

"I think we need to stop trying to avoid each other and really just...discuss it."

Natalie rubbed the back of her neck and swallowed a few times. "There really isn't much for us to discuss Sam. I said that I would give you time and that's what I'm doing. Until then, it's nothing something we have to talk about."

"No, but, Nad-"

The front door opened and both Natalie and Sam looked over to see Dean walking in with bags in his hands and he held them up for both of them to see. Natalie saw the smile on Dean's face and her eyes furrowed.

"Where the hell have you been?" She asked Dean as he walked by them, into the living room.

"I was on a supply run." Dean answered, setting the bags onto Bobby's desk.

"I should probably tell you both this as a warning." Caden suddenly spoke up. "This plan of yours, going back in time, I am only going to be able to give you 24 hours and that's it."

"24 hours?" Dean casted Caden a confused glance. "Why?"

"Well, to keep things short and simple. The further you go back, the harder it will be for me to bring you two back. So, 24 hours is the minimum. It is all I am willing to risk for this plan. If I don't get you two back within that time span, you two will be stuck there."

Natalie gave a quick head tilt and sighed. "Well, this plan just keeps on getting better and better, doesn't it?"

"Well, before we get all saddled up and ready to go, we're gonna need to put on these." Dean handed one bag over to Sam, who quickly scanned over and saw a label that told him it was from a costume store.

Sam looked up at Dean and shook his head. "Dean. I'm not going to put any of this on."

"Sam. Come on."

"No, Dean. I'll be just fine wearing what I am wearing right now." Sam gestured to his clothing.

"Are you kidding me? You'll look like a spaceman in those clothes. Now, let's go. Come on."

"Okay, Dean let's just get something clear." Sam began, ready to argue this. "Just because you have an obsession with all of this Wild West stuff..."

"I do not have an obsession." Dean retorted.

"You have a fetish."

"Oh, shut up. I happen to like old movies, alright? Is that so bad?" Dean asked.

"No, you don't just like old movies, you can recite every Clint Eastwood movie ever made, line for line." Sam added.

"Even the monkey movies?" Bobby questioned.

"Yeah, especially the monkey movies."

"His name is Clyde." Dean paused and looked around at everyone and lifted the bag towards Sam again. "Just...at least wear the damn shirt."

Sam stared at Dean, his expression hardened and his jaw tensed only to be matched with Dean's expectant smile. Sam grabbed the bag and headed towards the stairs with Dean trailing behind him.

Natalie pursed her lips together and turned to Bobby, the smile on her face showing her amusement for all of this. "And I thought my little debate with Dean about Star Trek was bad."

"Yeah, well, guess we should let him have his little fun with this." Bobby pulled up another bag and set it down on the desk.

Natalie looked into the bag, seeing that the contents were gold accessories and she gave a small smirk. "I'm guessing this is from the whole dragon pit we found earlier."

"They're gonna need it." Bobby commented.

"But, I can't help but think about it." Natalie began. "What if they don't get the ash? What then? Can they go back and try again?"

"I wouldn't try that." Caden answered. "Going back just once is a risk in itself. Taking them back a second time might be more catastrophic."

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "And here I am, having watched so many movies on time travel, not thinking that it would be that difficult."

"Time is very complex." Caden offered.

"Yeah, I think I actually understand that now."

Footsteps trudging down the staircase caught all of their attentions and looking over, Sam and Dean walked back into the room, each of them wearing different expressions. Natalie pressed her lips together seeing the look on Sam's face and the entirety of Dean's outfit, all of it, was amusing to her.

"Dean, this is stupid." Sam raised his arms at them. "I look stupid."

Natalie had to stifle a laugh as she gave Sam a shrug. '"I don't think you look that bad." Her eyes swept back over to Dean and her brows furrowed. "What exactly are you wearing?"

"Is...is that supposed to be a throw rug of some sorts?" Caden questioned.

Dean's reaction to Caden's question was one that someone could miss, but Natalie was fortunate enough to see it. "It's a serape." Dean answered. "And it is necessary. Let's just go." Dean looked down at his bag and rummage through the watches and chains. "What's all of this?"

"Where you're going, they don't take plastic."

Dean shrugged and zipped up the bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "I'll send you both back to March 4th. That should give you enough time to find and kill this Phoenix." Caden spoke as he walked over to Sam and Dean.

"Well, then, see you all at High Noon tomorrow." Dean answered before clicking his tongue. Natalie huffed out a laugh as Caden reached up to their foreheads and they vanished.

"That's that I guess." Natalie said.

"Now, this probably isn't what you two want, but I have to go. Castiel needed me to return once I was finished here."

"And what about Sam and Dean?" Natalie asked.

"Pray for me in 24 hours and I'll return."

Bobby picked up the timer from his desk and began to wind it up. "I'll pray for all of us."

"Very well."

"Thanks Caden." Natalie spoke up. "For...everything, I mean."

Caden nodded his head before vanishing.

"So." Bobby sat down at his desk. "You going to explain to me how you met this particular angel?"

Natalie shrugged and walked over to the empty seat across from him and sat down. "He just sort of appeared out of nowhere. After I killed Elais, as you know, I was in the hospital. The day I left the hospital, I saw this...guy, watching me from outside my motel room. I had seen him earlier at the hospital, but, he disappeared. But, I was able to talk with him at the motel. He helped me, Bobby."

"What you mean he helped you?"

"I had a really bad concussion and he got rid of that. And after that, he helped us numerous times and this past hunt, with the Timor, I was going to die Bobby...and he helped me."

Bobby tilted his head, curiously. "Why would an angel decide to just start helping out a person? Was there any kind of exceptions that went with it?"

Natalie shrugged. "I asked him that. Why is he helping me? He said that he felt like he needed to. Whatever that means."

"And you trust him?" His eyes narrowed.

"I guess I do. I mean come on Bobby, he has helped us quite a few times. Maybe, like Cas, he's another angel that we can actually trust. I mean, it's not everyday that we can give every single person that kind of benefit."

"I don't know Nad. It still makes me feel a little uneasy. Why does he feel so obligated in helping you? Is he your guardian angel?"

"No." Natalie settled back against her chair. "I asked him that to. He said that if that's what I want to think of him as, then so be it. But, he's not that. I'm not saying I trust him completely, but he's edging up the trust scale on my part."

"Well, the minute he tries to do something, he's done."

"No, I know. But as of now, I really think that Caden is someone we can trust."

Bobby gave an unsure sigh and shrugged. "I'll trail behind you on this for now, Nad."

...

The rest of the day went on painfully slow. Natalie, cooped up in Bobby's house, while Sam and Dean were over one hundred and fifty some years in the past. The time was spent on both parts, reading, seeing if they could find anything more on Eve and not at all surprising, they didn't find anything else.

Bobby and Natalie would occasionally spark up some kind of conversation and the one they spent the most time on was when Natalie mentioned how she went back to Dennis. That led to a whole conversation about her father and the hunts he and Bobby went on. It was completely out of contrast on how she usually acted, but every time Bobby would go on some storytelling about anything that involved her dad, she felt like a little girl again. Sitting there, listening to the details, learning something new every single time. It made her feel closer to him in a sense.

Once the "storytelling" had run it's course it would result back into silence between them, continuing on their journey of waiting. Honestly, Natalie wished that she had just on with Sam and Dean, but like Caden said, the more people that went the riskier this whole thing would've been. So, obviously, Natalie resulted to staying behind. But, one good thing about not choosing to go on this little expedition, she didn't have to wear any kind of western costume.

Natalie had fallen asleep rather early during the day and when she woke up the next day, and they had just a little over an hour to go. Searching through the house, Natalie was not able to find Bobby, nor was he out in the garage. Only when she went over to his desk did she find a note from him.

_Went on an actual supply run. Be back soon. _

Pulling a beer from the fridge, a great way to wake yourself up, Natalie walked into the living room and picked up her phone, scrolling through the unread messages.

"Natalie."

Natalie paused and turned back to look into the kitchen, only to find Castiel lying on the floor, next to the cabinet. Natalie quickly set down the phone and beer and walked into the kitchen. "Cas?! Are you alright?"

Castiel raises his hand up to her and then slowly draws out a sigil on the cabinet and once he was finished, painfully rose himself up to his feet and turned to Natalie. He was covered in blood, which was something that set Natalie off.

"Cas, what the hell happened to you?"

"I-uh..." Castiel stumbled towards Natalie, his hand bracing against the arch beam to support himself. Seeming to situate himself, he released his grip on the wall, only to fall forward against Natalie.

At first, Natalie was overwhelmed by the sudden weight that fell on her, but her arms wrapped out Castiel and she groaned. "Crap." Pulling him up further against her, Natalie looked back at the couch and then down at the angel.

"Alright, Cas. I'm gonna get you over to the couch." Natalie tightened her hold around him and began to drag him over to the furniture. Upon reaching it, Natalie slowly brought him over and laid him down on the cushion. Huffing out a breath, she stepped back and surveyed an unconscious Castiel. "Okay, Cas, you can't remain like this for too long."

….

Natalie, leaning against the desk, watched Castiel intently, silently hoping that he would wake up soon. Now they were just down to less than an hour and she had been trying to pray for Caden, but he was not showing up. That was exactly what she needed right now.

Castiel awoke suddenly, exhaling a sharp breath and Natalie leaned away from the desk, her hand resting on his shoulder. "Cas? You okay? You look like you just battled a huge army."

Castiel leaned up and closed his eyes, taking in a few breaths. "I'm fine. I just...I was betrayed, by one of my lieutenants. Raphael corrupted her and she turned on me."

"Sorry to hear that. She doesn't seem like the bright one of the bunch."

"Well, she's dead now."

Natalie raised her brows. "Oh."

"And I was wounded. I needed...safety. Thank you." Castiel groaned as he tried to push himself up, only to be stopped by Natalie.

"Cas. No. Just relax, there is no way you're going anywhere. And, what's with that sigil over there?"

"It's a warding symbol against angels."

Natalie nodded and looked back over at him. "How much pain are you in?"

"I'll heal."

"Well, that's good. But, Caden needs to get down here soon, because he needs to bring Sam and Dean back."

"Caden." Castiel paused as he cringed in pain. "Caden won't be here."

Natalie gave Castiel a cautious look. "What do you mean?"

"Last time I saw him, he was in a little bit of a situation. He won't be able to help you."

"Oh, that's just great. Well then, can you just get another angel to hop on down here and get the job done?"

"No, I can't."

Natalie raised her arms and huffed. "What are we supposed to do then?"

"There is a way that I can bring back both of them. But it's extremely dangerous."

"Okay." Natalie huffed out in relief. "What is it?"

"It's your soul."

Her brows raised at this. "My soul. What does my soul have to do with anything?"

"I need you to let me touch it."

Natalie's brows creased and her mouth fell slightly agape. Finally her head tilted to the side. "Touch it?"

"The human soul...it's a source of pure energy. If I can harvest some of that off, I might be able to bring Sam and Dean back."

"Okay..." She drew out the word longer than intended. "I'm guessing there is a catch to this."

"Well..." Castiel paused and licked at his lips. "Doing this is like...putting your hand in a nuclear reactor. I have to do it very gingerly or...you'll explode."

Natalie's eyes widened. "Oh. That's really...great." Rubbing her cheek, Natalie bit down on her lip and then shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, then. Let's get to it."

Castiel casted Natalie a look and began to shake his head. "Natalie. Maybe we should let Bobby do."

"No. Bobby is not here and we don't have time to wait for him. So I'm all you have right now, let's do this."

Before Castiel could try and argue this any further, Natalie pulled out one of the chairs from the desk and set it in the middle of the room. Finding her bag, Natalie quickly rummaged through the contents until she found her belt and pulled it out. Walking back over to the chair, Natalie sat down and folded the belt.

Castiel hesitantly walked over to stand in front of her and sighed. "There are major risks Natalie."

"I know. But, I'll be very happy if you don't make me explode." Natalie added with a faint smile. "So just...be careful." Natalie folded the belt one more time, then place it in her mouth and bit down.

Castiel placed his hand on her shoulder and slowly pressed his other hand into her upper stomach. The pressure came as a surprise for her and her attempt at a gasp was silenced into nothing but choking. This pressure was mixing in with a flash of pain, the only analogy that could come close to it was the feeling of being lit on fire. Even that didn't seem to give any kind of justice to this kind of pain that she was feeling.

Castiel's arm pushed deeper and a bright light poured out as Natalie's head hung back, her choking finally were able to turn into strained screams. Her teeth bit down onto the leather, feeling her teeth creating indentations in the material. The pressure that was being put against her ribcage was causing them to bend in, a sensation that made it feel like all of her ribs would break under this kind of treatment.

Natalie must have been moving around to much as Castiel's hand on her shoulder tightened, in the hopes that it would help keep her still. In her own attempt to get herself to stop squirming, Natalie braced her hands on the sides of the chair, gripping onto it as best as she could. Castiel's hand, all the way up to the middle of his arm, began to glow intensely with a red tint.

Bobby walked in through the front door and was met immediately with the sounds of Natalie's screams. Dropping the bags next to the door, Bobby quickly ran through the kitchen and stopped at the threshold, his eyes widening at what was he looking at.

"Nad! What the hell is going on?!" Bobby made his way over to her, his hand grabbing onto her arm.

Natalie groaned and opened her mouth, releasing the belt and let out another cry. "Bobby! Bobby don't!"

Her order was cut off with another round of screams, that were able to reverberate around the room now that she no longer had something to bit down on. The red veins soon made their appearance on the sides of Castiel's neck and crept up his cheeks. Slowly opening his eyes, a bright orange tinted light erupted from them. In a quick movement, Castiel pulled his arm out, allowing Natalie to slumped forward in her seat.

Natalie felt Bobby grab a hold of her arm and she looked up, seeing Dean on his knees next to her and Sam was standing near Bobby's desk. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath and looking back over at Dean, she saw him holding up an empty bottle and the look on his face told her everything.

"You okay?" Bobby asked, giving her a little nudge in the shoulder.

Natalie grabbed onto Bobby's arms and, with his help, she was able to get herself back up on her feet. Faltering in her stance, she leaned against Bobby, letting out a garbled groan.

"Nad. You alright?" Sam's voice came through.

Natalie closed her eyes and shook her head, then leaned down, her hands on her knees and took in a few breaths. "I...I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Natalie quickly pushed past Bobby and quickly made her way over to the bathroom.

Bobby looked back over at Castiel and raised his arms up. "What the hell did I walk in on?"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"I walked in and Nad was sitting in the chair and Cas was doing something to her. And where was the other angel?"

"Caden couldn't make it back. I was attacked by my lieutenant and I was weaken by the fight. I had to harvest energy from her soul so that I could bring you two back. Bobby wasn't here so Natalie resulted to volunteering."

Sam looked back to where Natalie was, still in the bathroom, and turned back to Castiel. "Is this going to have any kind of effect on her?"

"It shouldn't. Except for now."

Dean played with the empty bottle and looked over at Castiel. "You gotta send us back Cas."

Castiel gave Dean a look as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

"There's gotta be something you can do." Dean tried again.

"Dean." Sam spoke up. "Look at him, he's completely fried."

At this, Natalie walked back into the room, stood next to Sam but leaned against the opposite side of the threshold, her hand on her stomach.

"How you holding up Nad?" Dean asked as he looked over at her.

Natalie groaned and shrugged. "I think I'll live." Natalie closed her eyes and rested her head against the wood, feeling Sam's hand gently rub at her back, which was something that she was appreciating greatly for the moment.

Castiel looked over at Natalie and seeing the condition that she was in, sighed heavily. "I never want to do that again."

"So...what do we do now?" Natalie asked, grabbing onto Sam's arm, trying to give herself some stability. "You guys couldn't get the ashes."

A knock at the door cut in through the silence between all of them and Sam took it upon himself to answer the door. Natalie, in the mean time, pushed herself away from the wall and walked back over to the chair she had been occupying earlier and sat down, pressing her hands to her face.

Sam walked back into the room, carrying a decent sized package in his hands. "What's that?" Dean asked, prompting Natalie to look up.

"Some package for me." Sam set it down on the desk and used his knife to cut off the tape. Opening the box, he pulled out a note and began to read:

"Dear, Sam. I got this address and date off of, whatever kind of object this is, and I thought the enclosed might come handy. Regards, Samuel Colt."

Sam set down the letter and pulled out a bottle that was full of ashes from the Phoenix. "Would you look at that?"

"Ashes from the Phoenix." Dean answered with a relieved laugh. "That has got to be one of the best sights I've ever seen."

"Well, at least I didn't my soul harvested for nothing." Natalie commented dryly.

"And now that we have this. We can take the battle to Eve and roast this bitch."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, like I said in the beginning, I was really not to fond of this chapter. To me, it felt to much like a filler and I tried my best not to make it that way. But, I hope it was somewhat decent for you guys. Because I didn't like the turnout of this chapter, I'm already working fast on the next one so that should be up sometime this week. <strong>

**Also, I am curious about the whole thing that is going on between Nad and Sam. How would YOU like to see Sam finally confess to her? I'm curious as to what your ideas are, who knows, I might actually use it! Let me know!**

**So, until next time! Xx**


	35. Chapter 35

_A/N: Wow, I am such a horrible updater! I am so sorry about these long waits in-between chapters. I just get so caught up in school, but that's really not a good excuse. But! Two things. First, the poll on my profile, is going to remain up until I figure out when exactly I'll be writing that chapter. So, go ahead and vote if you haven't. Second, I have added a play list on the official blog. Head on over (link is on my page), it will constantly updated until I feel it is full enough and send in songs, if you think I should add it! _

_**Also! I have a very important question at the end of this chapter that I would REALLY like your ideas on. It will affect how the next story will be written out.**_

_Now, let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>Natalie walked into the house, her bag hanging from her shoulder, and closing the door softly, she called out. "Guys?!"<p>

Turning around fully, Natalie was confused when she didn't hear anything back. Peering quickly into the kitchen, she found that no one was in there. They shouldn't be gone, she told them that she was going back to Clara's to switch out a few things and pack a new set of clothes, nothing more and she wasn't gone for that long.

Blowing at the strand of hair in her face, Natalie walked through and kitchen and stopped at the opening into the living room, no one. Huffing out a breath, Natalie walked over to the couch, set her bag down and turned around at the sudden low hum of voices coming from the basement.

_That's where they must be._

Natalie walked over to the basement door and walked down the wooden stairs. Reaching the bottom, Natalie looked up when she began to hear someone panic and saw a young woman, eyes widen and backing up. Natalie looked around, assessing the scene, Bobby, Dean and Castiel were all standing next to each other, as Sam tried to calm the unrecognizable woman and Natalie raised her hands up, playing along with it.

"Who is she?" The woman called out.

"It's okay. She's our friend. She's fine." Sam assured quickly.

Natalie kept her hands raised and stood in place on the last step, not daring to move until this woman was comfortable with her being there. Seeing a small nod, Natalie took the step off the stairs and walked over to the group.

"So, what's going on here?" Natalie asked, her eyes keeping their gaze on the woman.

"Nad, this is Lenore. She's, uh, she's this...vampire that we met a few years back." Sam explained.

Tilting her head to the side, Natalie bit down on her cheek, taking in the explanation that Sam had given and then nodded her head. "Friendly vampire. That's a first for me. Why is she here though?"

"We weren't finding anything on Eve." Dean walked over and stood next to Natalie. "We felt that it might help if we tried to get some information from someone on the inside."

"I guess that answers the question that I was going to ask you both." Lenore commented at Dean. "Just to let you know, I have nothing to say about Eve."

"You sure about that Lenore?" Dean questioned, his brow raised at her.

"The only thing that I am sure on, is that I am trying to stay away from her, believe me"

"Well, where's your nest then?" Sam asked.

"They're all gone. They couldn't fight it anymore. It's her voice, in our heads. What it does to us. So...they left. Started killing again."

"Every single one of them...except you." Natalie observed.

Lenore gave them a smirk and shook her head. "Don't look surprised. I was hiding in a basement. Not exactly Club don't know how hard it is-not to give in."

"Okay, well let's try and focus on one thing." Dean offered. "This psychic two-way thing you've got going on, does that mean you know where mom's camped out?"

Lenore paused, staring at Dean with a blank look. "No, you've got to be kidding me. You want me to tell you where she is? You know that she could actually be listening to us right now. I might as well be a video camera."

"Even if we don't have the element of surprise, we're still going in." Bobby commented.

Lenore laughed, completely drained. "You're all crazy. I can't help you."

"Look, I can still see that you still give a crap. You don't wanna kill. And you don't want this whole planet to get fried." Sam offered.

"You all honestly think that you can stop her?" Lenore asked, switching it around.

"Just tell us where she is and we will." Sam answered.

Lenore hunched over slightly, bracing her hand against the wall and nodded. "She's in Grants Pass, Oregon. And now she knows you're coming."

"Okay, well, just because we don't have the element of surprise, doesn't mean we can't make this work." Natalie turned around and walked over to the stairs, as Bobby walked up to follow her, "At least, I hope we can still pull this off." Natalie said back at Bobby, as they began to make their way up the steps.

"We should start getting everything ready." Bobby walked over to his desk and pulled out his bag, taking stock of what he had in there.

Natalie walked over to the couch and began to go through her bag as well. "How did making gun shells out of the ashes work out?"

"Dean is a little skeptical about it now."

Natalie pulled out her gun and turned back towards Bobby. "Why? Didn't the book say that the way to kill Eve was the ashes of a Phoenix?"

"Yeah. Well, when Dean was putting these shells together, he got some on him. Didn't do a damn thing, so now, he's thinking that it might not work."

Natalie furrowed her brows. "Well, maybe it's like holy water or iron. You know? It doesn't do anything to us."

"That's what Sam said, but still, we won't know until we actually find her."

Natalie nodded. Turning back to her bag, she pulled out the bullets and quickly filled up the ammo and clipped it into place, switching on the safety before tucking the gun in the back of her pants.

"You got everything you need?"

Natalie nodded, her back still turned to Bobby, and picked up the bag, swinging the straps around and putting her arms through them. Turning around just in time to see Sam, Dean and Castiel walking up the steps and she couldn't help but cast them a curious look.

"Where's Lenore?"

Sam pressed his lips together as he picked up his bag, purposely trying to ignore her question. This only prompted Natalie cast looks over at Castiel and then Dean, seeing that they were seemed to be wearing some kind of wary look on their faces.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Lenore is dead." Castiel was the one who finally provided the answer Natalie had been seeking, although, the actual answer itself wasn't the one Natalie thought she would hear.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Lenore was feeling the urge to feed-on humans. She asked to be killed so she wouldn't do so." Castiel explained, giving Sam and Dean the relief to not have to explain it.

"That's a little unfortunate."

"But, we need to move things along." Castiel pestered everyone.

Bobby, Dean, Sam and Natalie situated themselves near Castiel, each of them adjusting their bags, checking to make sure they had their weapons on them. Natalie stood next to Sam, casually casting a look over at him and then broke the stare quite quickly.

Still, there was really no, progress, in this little silent treatment between Sam and Natalie. The awkwardness was gone, they had spoken to each other, not that much, but it was more then what they were doing before. Although, most of the time, Sam would try and actually bring up the subject, but it would be shot down by something interrupting them. Then to make it a little more complicated, Natalie would never bring it back up. She wouldn't try to talk about it with him, because frankly, just thinking about it would make her feel embarrassed. Natalie didn't want to discuss it, but unfortunately, that was the only way things would finally come to some kind of full circle.

Dean had watched the small moment that Natalie had, staring at Sam and then looking back down, missing the fact that Sam also casted his own wary glance down at her. Dean couldn't help but shake his head and internally groan. _This was getting ridiculous._ Dean had thought, on multiple occasions, of just locking Sam and Natalie in a room together, that way, they would have to talk it out. But, knowing both of them, they would just get pissed at him and plus, it wasn't any of his business. It wasn't his problem. Therefore, he resulted to just sitting back and watching this play out, painfully.

"Are you all ready?" Castiel slowly looked at each of them, receiving their confirming nods and then stuck his hand out. "Take hold of my arm."

The four hunters took their hold on him, each of them casting their doubtful looks at each other. "Well, Grants Pass, here we come." Dean commented before the five of them disappeared.

* * *

><p>Bobby narrowed his eyes, moving his finger over the touch screen and ultimately pressing a few things that he wasn't supposed to, prompting him to quietly curse.<p>

"Dammit." Bobby sighed as he clicked on the internet icon again and tapped on the search bar slightly taken back by the keyboard appearing and then began to type out. Seeing that he pressed more than one key, Bobby let out a frustrated sigh and looked up seeing Natalie giving him a look.

"Damn technology." Bobby snarked as he looked back down at the iPad.

Natalie scoffed out a laugh, picking up her glass, she took another and glanced around the table. Bobby was across from her, she was sitting next to Sam with Dean across from his and Castiel was sitting at the end of the table. Her eyes casually fell on Sam, who took a bite out of his salad and looked over at her.

Instead of looking away, which is what she normally did, Natalie's eyes remained fixed on him and they both just sat there. Staring at each other and not uttering a single word between them. They were so engrossed in it, just staring at each other, trying to make sense of what the other was thinking. Also, they weren't exactly trying to be conspicuous about it. Dean had got sight of this and was now watching intently, thinking that this would somehow lead to them having a decent conversation.

Instead, Natalie quickly looked away and they both went back into that hermit state of trying to avoid each other. Dean chewed away as he continued to watch Sam and Natalie and his internal annoyance at their, "not talking to each other in hopes that it will stop being this awkward" attitude, it was starting to boil over. In all honesty, Dean was at the height of not being able to stay quiet. _Enough is enough. _Dean picked at some food in his teeth with his tongue and casually looked back over at them, seeing that they weren't even looking at each other. With one final sigh, Dean decided that he would push it to it's next limit.

"Are you two going to talk about it or not?"

Everyone at the table turned their attention towards Dean, all of them wearing a confused expression on their faces. Sam and Natalie seemed have just a slightly more confused look in their eyes.

"This whole thing going on between you two." Dean gestured between the two of them with his fork and he could see the slight horror wash over Natalie's face when she realized what he was doing. "I mean I'm just gonna say that it's freaking ridiculous. This whole awkwardness between you two...its suffocating."

"Dean." Sam's voice was low and stern.

"What are you going on about?" Bobby asked, although, his eyes were set on Natalie and Sam.

"These two, are acting like hormonally confused teenagers who don't know how to deal with relationships."

"Dean!" Sam and Natalie both called out, garnering the attention of some of the other people in the diner.

"What the hell?" Natalie's brows were creased and her eyes were wide. Dean could only describe the look as something Natalie would give him if he did something really offensive or uncalled for...which was probably this moment right here.

"Look." Dean began, raising his hands in a defensive manner. "All I'm saying is that you two have been ignoring this little...thing...and you obviously have to sort it out."

"This has nothing to do with you." Natalie bit back, her jaw clenching together.

"It may not be my business, but this is really becoming a little aggravating. Seriously. You _both _need to get your heads out of your asses and deal with it."

Natalie's mouth slowly fell agape and her expression was frozen. She looked like she had just seen someone commit the worse kind of offense and honestly, she had nothing to come back with. The reason being, Dean was right.

Her mouth closed back together, her jaw clenching several more times. "You did not have to bring that up you know. That was really unnecessary."

"So is seeing you two practically acting like you're stepping on egg shells around each other."

Natalie went to say something else when Bobby interrupted them, not wanting to see the impending occasion of Natalie ripping into Dean. "I think I got something."

Natalie let out what sounded like a growl as she settled back in her seat, her arms folding over her chest.

"What is it?" Dean asked, completely moving on from the _almost _altercation that would have occurred between him and Natalie.

"Well, I was finally able to get into the police database. Oh and no thanks to this." Bobby held up the iPad so that Sam would see. "I asked for a computer Sam."

Sam, still a little on edge by what Dean had said, rolled his eyes and sighed. "It is a computer Bobby."

"No. A computer has buttons." Bobby retorted.

Sam shook his head and took another bite from his food. "What did you find?"

"Uh. Nothing but nickel and dime stuff, nothing that we would consider out of the ordinary. Basically, nothing but a dead end. You think your little vampire friend was lying?"

"Whether she was lying or not, it's still the only thing that we have to go on from." Dean answered.

Castiel turned in his seat, taking a glance around the room before turning to look back at the four hunters. "I'm going to search the town. Give me a minute."

Natalie slowly turned her glass around in circles, her straw moving all around and when she looked up, Castiel was still sitting in his seat. "Cas...we can still see you." She inquired, prompting Sam and Dean to look over at him.

Castiel looked down at the table, his brow creasing with confusion. "Yeah. I'm still here."

Dean gave him a look and shrugged. "Okay. Cas you don't have to wait for us."

Castiel nodded and cleared his throat then closed his eyes, his face extorting into a tense concentration.

"Well, now it just looks like you're pooping." Dean commented.

At this, Castiel opened his eyes and shook his head. "Something's wrong. I'm blocked..." Castiel looked up, his eyes widened. "I'm powerless."

Dean's expression deadpanned. "You're joking."

"Something in this town, is affecting me. I assume it's Eve."

"Wait." Dean leaned closer to him. "So, mom is making you limp."

"Figuratively, yes."

"How?"

"I don't know, but she is."

"Well, that's just great." Dean replied. "Because without your power, you're basically a baby in a trench coat."

Natalie looked from Dean over to Castiel, seeing his eyes narrow, looking like he was about to retort, but instead, simply shook his head and looked away. Natalie pursed her lips together, seeing Sam moving around in his seat as he looked back at Dean.

"I think you hurt his feelings." Sam mumbled quietly causing Dean to go quiet.

"Okay, I got something else." Bobby spoke up. "Had to go Federal to get it, but, a call went out from the local office to the CDC last night. A Dr. Silver called in an illness he couldn't identify. Patient's a twenty-five year old, African-American, name Ed Bright."

"So, what now, go and check out Dr. Silver's office?" Natalie questioned.

"I say we split up." Dean answered. "Cas and I will go to his office and you three maybe check out his house. See what you can come up with."

"Fine by me." Natalie took one last drink from her glass and set it back down. "Let's get going."

* * *

><p>The car stopped outside a house and Sam cut off the engine. Bobby, Natalie and Sam, pile out of the vehicle and make their way across the street and onto the sidewalk, where Dean and Castiel were waiting for them.<p>

Turning around, Dean caught sight of them. "So, what did you guys find?"

"Nothing." Sam shrugged. "His car was still in the driveway, no bags were packed. House was completely empty. So. He's missing. What did you guys find?"

"Us?" Dean shook his head. "We found a nice oozy patient outside of the doc's office."

Sam made a face and hummed in disgust. "That must've been a nice sight to see."

"Yeah. It was amazing." Dean replied, sarcastically.

"Does Ed Bright have a twin brother?"

Castiel's question caught everyone off guard and Bobby shook his head. "No. Why?"

"Then. That's not his twin." Castiel gestured at the window where they all saw someone who looked exactly like Ed.

Sam nodded his head. "So. What, are we dealing with a shifter?"

"Not sure exactly what we're looking at." Bobby replied.

Natalie sighed and nodded her head. "Well. Guess we need to go and find out."

Without waiting for an answer, Natalie walked up the pathway towards the front porch and she could hear some protest coming from the others. When she made it to the steps, she could hear Sam and Dean following her, mimicking her steps up the stairs.

Reaching the door, Natalie raised her hand to knock when her eyes caught onto something. The door was just cracked open, slightly. Her hand reached around for her gun, that was resting in the back of her pants and she looked back at Sam and Dean, who had done the same.

Natalie pushed open the door, drawing her gun out in an aim, she slowly walked and was greeted with the sighed of a small hallway directly in front of her. The house was only being illuminated by the faint sunlight streaming through the windows. And turning directly to their left, the three hunters were met with a scene that made each of them cringe with confusion.

Bodies upon bodies were littering the floor and each of them looked exactly like Ed Bright. Essentially, there were about maybe about six or so dead Ed Bright clones, lying on the floor.

"Neither of you touch anything." Dean quietly commented.

Natalie carefully walked into the room, her feet stepping in ideal places, so that she doesn't accidentally step on one of the bodies. She was making her way towards one of the bodies that was sitting up in a chair and once she was standing, a good distance from it, Natalie leaned forward slightly, her eyes scanning over the body. Her eyes assessed the facial region and Natalie's eyes widened as the heard turned towards her and the body was wracked with a cough, causing Natalie to immediately back away.

"Guys." Natalie called out, making sure to keep her distance from the body, even though she couldn't help be just step a little closer. "Ed? Hey, can you talk to us?"

"What?" The man wheezed out another cough and swallowed. "I'm not Ed."

Natalie, confused, pursed her lips together and spotted a wallet on the table next to her. Hesitating at first, Natalie picked up the object and opened it, sliding out a driver's license, seeing that this guy's name was Marshall Todd. As Sam and Dean both knelt down next to her, she showed, quickly, the license and the three of them stared at Marshall, her faces adorned with confusion.

"What's wrong with me?" Marshall groaned, his body shaking with another fit of coughing.

"Nothing. You're ok. You're okay, alright? We're gonna get you help." Sam offered, placing the license and wallet back on the table.

"Can I ask something?" Marshall spoke up. "Do we all look like Ed?"

"What? No, no, of course not. You, uh, you have a fever. You're hallucinating, that's all." Dean quickly explained, as he made a quick survey of the room.

Natalie leaned a little closer to him and sighed. "Hey, Marshall. Can you tell us what happened?"

"Am I gonna die?"

Natalie shook her head vehemently. "No. You're gonna be fine. But, we need to know, what happened? Can you tell us."

"Ed was...not feeling to well. So I took him to the doctor." Marshall was cut off by another wet cough. "I think now we're all sick."

"Okay." Natalie licked at her lips. "Before you all got sick...including Ed...what happened? Can you remember anything?"

"We were at...some bar. Some bar on 8th street...I think."

Natalie nodded, hoping that it would encourage him to keep on going. "Okay, a bar." She said, a slight relief in her tone. "And what happened at the bar?"

"Some girl came in."

"A girl?" Marshall nodded in confirmation at Natalie's question. "So a girl came in...do you remember what she looked like? Or what she was wearing?"

"She was wearing white...and she had kinda long brown hair.

"This is good." Natalie was trying to make herself sound encouraging and light. Usually, it helps people to stay focus, which is what they needed right now. "Marshall. When she came in, what did she do? Did anything happen?"

Marshall's head tilted to the side, his eyes slowly closing and his body giving a few more faint jolts from his coughing. Silence soon filled the room and the hunters were left simmering in it, their faces gawking at what was around them and what they just encountered.

"Marshall?" Natalie's eyes scanned over his face and leaned back onto her knees and sighed. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Whatever it is, it's not a shifter...looks more like an infection." Dean inquired, taking another look around the room.

"An infection that causes you to take on the appearance of someone else?" Natalie casted Dean a doubtful look.

"Well..." Dean shrugged. "It may not be the kind that we're used to. Aside from that, there's no doubt in my mind that it's Eve."

"So, what do we do now?" Natalie asked.

Sam stood up and cleared his throat. "Let's get to the bar. See what we can find there."

...

The doors to the bar swung open, Bobby and Dean were the first to enter, although, stopping halfway once they saw what was laid out before them. Bodies everywhere. Lying on the ground, draped across pool tables and hanging halfway off the bar counters. Some of the bodies had dried blood down the sides of their face, wounds on their chests and in other areas.

Natalie stepped into the bar, between Bobby and Dean, eyes scanning over the scene. "What the hell happened here? And, why hasn't anyone found out about this yet?"

"That's what I was thinking." Bobby followed in behind Natalie. "You would think, with this many missing folk, the Sheriff would notice."

Dean broke away from the group and headed over to a table where a body was lying on. Gently pulling up the upper lip, fangs flashed at him. "We got a vamp over here." Dean looked down at the arm, brows furrowed, and lifted it, revealing a spike protruding from the wrist. "No. Scratch that we got a wraith."

Dean slowly placed the arm back down and stood up just as Bobby made his way over to him. "What the hell? What has teeth and a spike?"

Bobby's eyes widened, a little bewildered from the question. "Never seen that in my life."

"So...what? Eve is making hybrids now?"

Bobby shrugged. "Looks like it."

Dean sighed and looked back down at the body, gesturing to it. "Well, why would she? I mean, what would she want with-what do you call these?" He asked looking back up at Bobby.

"Well, congrats. You discovered it, which means, you get to name it."

Dean pondered on the statement, watching as Bobby turned away to check other bodies, when a smirk appeared on his face. "Jefferson Starships."

Bobby, Sam and Natalie paused, turning their gazes over to Dean, confusion adorning their faces.

Dean raised up a finger at them. "Because...they're horrible...and hard to kill."

Natalie had to instantly look away, feeling herself about to smile at Dean's remark but she didn't want him to see. She was still a little riled up at what he did at the diner. _But damn, that was actually a good one. _Natalie thought to herself.

Accepting Dean's new found name for these hybrids, Sam shrugged and looked down at the bodies. "Then. It looks like the whole bar has been turned into..."

"Jefferson Starships." Dean interrupted causing Sam to roll his eyes.

"Fine. But, why are all the...Starships dead?"

"Well, I can't give a definite answer, but, it looks like they all burned up. Like a high fever. But, why would that happen?"

Natalie moved one of the body's arms with her foot and looked up. "Well, actually it's not all that surprising. I mean, taking two different species, crossing them together. Each of them has their own genetics so, you are bound to find some that counteract with each other...then you get this."

Dean stared at Natalie, his lips pursed out in confusion. "Did you learn about that in high school, or what?" Dean questioned.

"My college Biology professor was big on this kind of stuff. Some things you just keep in your mind." Natalie answered.

"Then, Eve must've cooked these the wrong way in the pot." Bobby commented.

"So, what, now every monster in this town are dying of the motaba virus?"

"Hands where I can see 'em!"

Natalie quickly turned around, seeing the Sheriff and a few other cops, with their guns aimed at them. Simultaneously, the three hunters and the angel raised their hands up, while Natalie blew out a sigh.

"Now this is not what it looks like." Castiel tried to explain.

"We're the feds." Bobby tried his round.

Yeah? Well Feds are not allowed to do this. Cuff 'em and let's get them to the station."

* * *

><p>Natalie pursed her lips together as one of the officers yanked her arms back and cuffed her wrists. As she was being led to the door, Natalie caught sight of only three of them were in front of her. In her confusion, Natalie looked back for only a moment and was able to catch sight of Dean peering up from behind the counter. Feeling the officer shove her forward, Natalie lost sight of Dean as she exited the building. <em>Dean will figure out a plan. Hopefully.<em>

The station doors were forced open allowing the officers to usher in Bobby, Castiel, Sam and then Natalie. During the car ride here, all of them were trying to talk their way out of this. Coming up with a decent enough reasoning that they hoped would make the officers believe them, but of course, it didn't.

"Please. Listen, if you just let us make a phone call, then we will be able to straighten this all out." Sam tried getting the Sheriff to agree with him.

"Really? You want to try and straighten out a massacre? Yeah, I'd like to see you try."

Natalie sighed, groaning at the officer yanking on her arms a little to roughly and when she casted a glare at him, Natalie could've sworn that she saw a faint smirk across his lips. Her eyes focused on the forms of Bobby, Sam and Castiel, who were all walking in front of her and that's when she saw Sam headbutt the Sheriff, who was holding him.

Natalie and the officer who was escorting her, both stopped in their steps, Natalie's wide eyes moved up to Sam's panicked expression.

"Jefferson Starships!"

Natalie's reaction was instant. Her heel came down and stomped on the officer's foot, his grip on her arms released as he stumbled back. Natalie turned and kicked the "Starship" in the stomach then turned around, hopefully to find a way to get the handcuffs off her. Two strong hands gripped her from the back of the neck and threw her backwards against the wall, a strained cry emanating from Natalie's throat, her eyes closing at the sudden impact.

Upon opening them, the "Starship" made for another advancement towards her, grabbing onto her neck and her leg came up, kicking kneeing him in the groin and lower abdomen several times and the result was less than what she was expecting. He was able to recover quite quickly, too fast for her to have a decent counterattack. His hands grabbed at her jacket collar and he opened his, revealing his teeth when a blade sliced through the creature's neck, his head then rolled off to the side.

Natalie gasped out once the grip around her neck was released and looked up, seeing that three of the things were dead, but one was still alive, although it didn't seem like for long since Dean was just about to strike when Sam stopped him.

"No! Dean, wait! We need him."

Bobby, who had snatched the keys from the sheriff's body, walked over to Natalie, after un-cuffing Sam and Castiel, and took her by the arm. "You alright?" He asked as he went to work on the cuffs.

"Of course." Natalie replied, sighing in relief when she felt the cuffs come off and she brought her arms back around, massaging at her wrists. "So, what are we going to do about this one?" Natalie gestured at the last "Starship" currently being handled by Castiel.

"We're going to use him. Try and get any kind of information that we need." Dean motioned for Castiel to follow, with the creature, towards one of the interrogation rooms towards the back of the station.

"Sam get the chains from the bag." Dean ordered from down the hall.

"Guess there's gonna be an interrogation going on soon." Natalie commented.

Bobby casted her a wary look and nodded. "I'll do the honors of that. Don't want you getting all hyped up in that kind of mindset again."

Natalie pursed her lips at Bobby's mentioning of her past torture session and nodded. "Never said that I wanted to."

...

Natalie dumped the bags onto the desk at the front of the station, where the bodies were still lying on the floor, but they were just small sore to the eyes. The boys got the creature chained up in one of the interrogation rooms and Natalie vouched to not stand there and watch the process play out. She wouldn't admit it to the boys, but she was beginning to feel that familiar itch, wanting to get involved with it. Interrogate the thing. But, Bobby was adamant on keeping her out of it and Natalie didn't want to go back down that road.

Walking away from the scene, was probably the best decision Natalie has made in a while. Just sit out until it's all done and over with. Leaning against the desk, her face pressed against her palms and groaned. Natalie was feeling so mixed about everything. The main thing was trying to find Eve and end her and then Natalie can't help but still feel pissed at what Dean did back at the diner. Calling her and Sam out like that. Really, it is none of his business. But, Natalie was also arguing with the side that he was right. She can't fight that. It was the truth.

Folding her arms across her chest, she looked up and blew out a breath but paused when she heard something coming from another side of the building. At first, she looked down the hallway where the interrogation was taking place, but that noise didn't sound like it came from that. It sounded like a faint whimper.

Turning her head to the right, Natalie peered down another hallway, smaller than the other, and it looked like it led to cells. Stepping away from the desk, Natalie walked over into the hallway and began to travel down the length of it. Towards the end, on the wall, there were large amounts of blood, smeared on the wood of the wall. Moving her hand to the back of her pants, Natalie grabbed hold of her gun and slowly pulled it out, carefully moving around the threshold.

A huge cell is what greeted her and looking in, Natalie found two young boys, bound and gagged, sitting on the cell cot. Natalie quickly placed her gun back into her pant line and walked over to the cell door. It was only then that she saw recognized them.

"Wait. Are...you're Dr. Silver's kids, right?"

One of the boys, who Natalie could tell was the oldest, nodded his head and she blew out a breath. "Okay. Um...just hold on..." Natalie turned, looking around the area. "I'll get you out of here."

Walking over to the desk, Natalie rummaged through the drawers until she finally found the cell keys. Unlocking the door, Natalie walked into the cell and knelt down before them. The action caused both boys, especially the youngest, to scoot more onto the cot and Natalie paused, raising her hands up.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. You don't have to worry about anything." Natalie offered them both the most genuine smile she could muster and she could see the compliance in the older brother's eyes. This gave her the sign to reach forward and she pulled the cloth away from his mouth and went to do the same for the younger brother.

After this, Natalie retracted her hands and placed them on her knees. "Can you two tell me your names?"

"Joe." The oldest one responded. "And this is Ryan." He motioned towards the still slightly terrified younger boy who was settled closely next to him.

Natalie nodded and moved her gaze over at Ryan, giving him another smile. "Hi, Ryan. I'm Natalie. Are you okay?" Natalie was only met with silence and a blank stare from him.

"He won't talk. Ever since they came for us...even I can't get a word out of him."

Natalie nodded her understanding and sympathy. "Well, you two don't have to worry about anyone coming for you. You're safe now. But, before I can get you guys loose, there are a few...things that I need to check for."

Joe shrugged. "Like what?"

Natalie hesitated and pursed her lips. "Well, Joe...you know what's going right...or at least you understand what's happening."

Joe merely nodded at Natalie's words.

"And because of that, I just need to make sure that you two...are you. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. I guess."

Natalie breathed out and nodded. "Okay. Just wait and I'll be right back."

Natalie made sure to make a quick run back to where the bags were on the front desk. She didn't even stop to think and tell Sam and Dean that she had found these two boys. Natalie just wanted to check them, make sure they weren't one of those hybrids that Eve conjured up. In all honesty, Natalie didn't think they were, but, she couldn't really just go on gut instinct. Especially after what she's seen in this town.

Pulling out the holy water from her bag, Natalie uncapped it and poured a small, but, decent amount of salt into the bottle, closed it and gave it a quick shake. Her other hand brushed over her back pocket, ensuring that her knife was in there before turning around and running back to the cell.

Walking into the cell, Natalie knelt back down in front of Ryan and Joe, uncapped the bottle and looked up at the boys.

"Okay, so, there is only a few...tests that I need to do. They won't be that bad. I promise. And after this, we'll get some food in you both. Okay?"

Both boys nodded.

Natalie placed the bottle down and pulled out her pocket knife, flipping the blade open, which made the boys begin to feel uneasy. But, Natalie was quick to assure him. "Okay. So, I'm just gonna need to make a little cut on your arm. I promise...it'll be quick."

Joe sighed. "Go ahead and do me first."

Natalie nodded and moved over to Joe's arm, gently lifted up the sleeve and pressed the blade down on his skin, making a quick cut, which made Joe hiss. Natalie pulled the blade away and looked at the cut, not seeing a reaction, which she mentally rejoiced at.

"Okay, you're good." Natalie turned to Ryan, who was eyeing the small knife like it was the most terrifying thing in the world. Actually, Natalie couldn't blame him. If she was his age and a group of monsters tied Natalie and her brother up in a jail cell, only to have a strange woman coming in and cutting your older brother...she'd be pretty freaked out too.

"It's okay Ryan." Joe assured his younger brother.

Ryan quietly, reluctantly, nodded and Natalie moved over to his arm, pulled up his sleeve and right in the middle of his forearm, Natalie made an easy cut across his skin, pulling the knife away quickly and assessed the area, not seeing any kind of reaction.

Setting the knife down, Natalie pulled down Ryan's sleeve and gave a quick rub over the cut, though she made sure that she was touching his sweatshirt. Picking up the holy water, Natalie made a quick gesture to it.

"Now this, will probably be the least painful of the tests. All you need to do is take a quick drink from it, swallow as well. Now, it's no going to taste good at all. But, this is the last test you will need to do."

As expected, Joe was the one who nodded for him to go first and Natalie brought the bottle to his lips, tilting it enough that he was able to get a decent amount in his mouth. Natalie pressed her lips into a thin line at the expression on his face. "I know. It's not the best tasting thing." She commented as she pulled the bottle away. _No reaction. _

Turning to Ryan, who seemed a little bit at ease with her, Natalie gently tilted the bottle to his mouth and, taking after his brother, took his drink and swallowed the liquid, his face contorting into disgust.

Pulling away the bottle, Natalie placed the cap back on, while keeping her eyes on both boys, neither of them sporting any kind of reaction to the tests. Natalie pressed her lips together, internally drowning in her own relief that these boys wouldn't have to be...well, they wouldn't have to be done away with.

"You both are done. Wasn't that bad right?"

Joe made a few smacking noises with his mouth, trying to rid of the salty taste still lingering in his mouth. "Except for this."

Natalie casted him a quick smile and stood up, pulling out the keys. "Yeah, I know how you feel." She moved to the cuffs around his wrists and quickly unlocked them then went and did the same for Ryan. Tossing the cuffs onto the bed, Natalie motioned for the boys to stand up. "Let's get you two out of here. Come on."

Joe ushered for Ryan to go ahead of him and then followed, with Natalie walking closely behind the boys. When they finally made it out into the front part of the station, Natalie walked ahead of them, towards her bag. "Sam! Dean!"

Pulling out a few food bars and some water, Natalie turned to the boys, seeing that Joe was looking at her kind of warily.

"Other people..."

"Don't worry. They're not going to hurt you." She offered the bars and water bottles over to them and then motioned towards a few chairs. "Go ahead and sit down."

Natalie watched as the boys went over to sit at a few chairs then turned around, seeing Sam and Dean walking out from the hallway, their brows creased in confusion. Natalie raised her brows at them as she walked over.

"Where did they come from?" Sam motioned over at them.

"I found them. Cuffed and gagged in one of the jail cells back there."

"They're Dr. Silver's kids, aren't they?" Sam gestured at them.

"Yeah. And don't worry, I already tested them. Salt, holy water, iron, they didn't react to anything so...they're good."

"Did you manage to question them?" Dean asked.

Natalie casted him a look, then shook her head. "No. I just wanted them to calm a bit before doing that."

"Well, we're gonna need to find out if they know anything." Dean brushed passed Natalie, causing her to press her tongue against the side of her cheek.

Sam, who had been looking at Dean, moved his gaze down to Natalie, then gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. "Come on."

Natalie turned and walked over to Joe and Ryan, who were now being questioned by Dean. She just wished that he had waited just a little bit longer. Give the boys some time to just actually really gather themselves after what happened. But, given the fact that they were not really making any progress with the hybrid that was strapped in the chair, they needed to find other alternatives to finding information.

Dean stood in front of the boys and gave them a nod. "What are your names?"

"I'm Joe...and that's Ryan."

Dean nodded. "So, I understand that my friend found you two back there." The older brother nodded. "Listen, there is...a lot going on out there and we need to figure out how to stop it. So, I need to ask you a few questions."

"That's fine." Joe answered and looked down at Ryan. "He won't talk though."

Dean pouted his lips slightly and nodded. "That's okay. Can you just answer them for me then?"

Joe nodded.

"Okay. So, you and your brother were brought in by the police, right?"

"Yeah."

"And then they just...locked you both up in the cell." Joe nodded. "During the time that you were there, did you ever hear them mention someone by the name of Eve?"

Joe gave Dean a look, but shook his head regardless. "No. It was just me and Ryan. I never heard them mention that name before."

"And what about your parents?" Sam asked.

Joe shrugged and gave a faint shake. "Cops said that we would be next. Basically said that we were food."

"Do you have any other family?" Dean went onto ask.

"Yeah." Joe nodded. "We have an uncle that lives in Merritt."

"Merritt." Dean repeated. "Okay, that's not that far from here, only about 15 miles. We'll get you both there."

"Dean."

The three hunters all turned and looked, seeing Castiel motioning Dean over to him. Natalie although furrowed her brows. _Did Cas listen to the whole thing? _Natalie watched as Dean walked over to Castiel, she then turned her attention back at the boys, seeing that they were both staring at her.

"Go ahead and finish. It's fine."

Natalie looked up at Sam and motioned for him to step away with her for a moment. Once they both were a good distance away from the boys, Natalie folded her arms and looked up at Sam. "So, what did Bobby managed to get out from that hybrid?"

Sam blew out a sigh and rolled his eyes at the thought. "Nothing. That thing is just as stubborn as any other kind of monster."

"Guessing Bobby is gonna keep going at it, until he's able to get something out of him."

"Unless Bobby get's tired of it." Sam added.

"Well, that creature is the only thing we have connected with Eve. Odds are, we are gonna keep him alive for as long as we need to."

Sam quietly nodded, his eyes scanning over her as Natalie allowed her gaze to drop from his. Once again, Sam could tell that they were about to submerge right back into that quiet state with each other and he did not want that to happen again.

"Are you okay?" He asked, hoping that it would spark some kind of conversation with her.

Natalie, surprised, looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well...you still upset with Dean, after...you know. At the diner."

Natalie sighed and couldn't help but sport a quick smile. "I don't know. Although, I can't really be mad at him. He was right. About, everything that he said back there."

"Didn't mean he had to go and call us out on it like that."

Natalie shrugged. "Maybe that's what we needed. Just an extra shove...another slap in the face."

"Sam." Dean walked over to them. "Come on, let's get these boys to their uncle's."

"What did Cas want to talk to you about?" Natalie asked, curiously.

"Nothing." Dean was quick to answer, which made Natalie quiet instantly, not wanting to question the matter further.

Dean motioned for Joe and Ryan over and the boys quickly walked over to them. "We're gonna get you two out of here."

Joe gave Natalie a look. "Are you going?"

Natalie moved her gaze over to Joe. "No. I need to stay here. Don't worry, you both will be safe with Sam and Dean."

"Alright, let's go."

Dean ushered Joe and Ryan towards the main doors when Joe suddenly stopped and turned back to Natalie. "Thanks."

Natalie, slightly caught off guard, stood there watching as Sam and Dean escorted the boys out of the station. Then, a completely genuine smile appeared and she actually couldn't rid of it that easily. Only when she looked over at Castiel, seeing the expression on his face, Natalie could feel it begin to falter.

"Oh, come on Cas. Don't give me that look. You might actually start to make my good mood dwindle."

* * *

><p>The interrogation was still going on and it had been only, maybe, thirty minutes since Sam and Dean left with Joe and Ryan. And yet, standing there watching Bobby do this, Natalie felt like it had been hours, days even. It was so much different, watching it from the interrogation window, when she was so used to being the one performing it.<p>

Also, Natalie was curious, Castiel, ever since Sam and Dean left, had been quiet. Well, more quiet than he usually was and he seemed, upset, bothered more like it. He was no longer watching the interrogation and Natalie was becoming frustrated with watching this take place and there being no progress whatsoever.

Eventually, Natalie decided to take a break herself, but she felt for Bobby. He had been at this for a while and there were no results, at least, results that they were looking for. Apart of her would be more than gladly to take the wheel of this for a while, but, knowing Bobby, he wouldn't let her that close to this.

Walking back out into the main room of the station, Natalie saw Castiel staring out one of the windows and she cleared her throat, signaling her entrance.

"Cas. Are you okay?"

"They shouldn't have let those boys go."

Natalie answered this with a quick huff as she walked over to the desk and sat down on it. "Cas. I tested the boys. They were fine. Is that what's been bothering you this whole time?"

"It was a mistake."

"Cas, I think you're just being a little to harsh on this. You might need to just lighten up a little."

Castiel turned away from the window to look at Natalie and she was caught off guard be the look on his face. "This is not something that I need to-lighten up about, Natalie."

Natalie's eyes widened as she nodded her head. "Okay. Sorry. Then let me try and switch the subject around because, there's something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"It's about Caden."

At this, Castiel narrowed his eyes, curiosity lacing them. "What about him?"

Natalie pursed her lips, thinking on how to ask it. "Do you know why, all of a sudden, he just kind of...came out of nowhere? I mean just out of the blue, he appears...why?"

"He never gave you any kind of reason." He asked, head tilting to the side.

Natalie pursed her lips, shaking her head. "He only said that he just felt the need to protect me. Whatever that means. Do you know why?"

"No. In fact, I was quite surprised when I had heard about what he was doing."

"Did he ever tell you anything?" Natalie asked.

"No." Castiel shook his head. His eyes then narrowed at her. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, it's not everyday that you hear about an angel just...randomly helping someone. Usually there's a reasoning behind it. And, plus, Caden kind of appeared after something happened."

"What are you talking about?"

Natalie bit down on her lip and turned to look back down the hallway, making sure that Bobby wouldn't come walking in on their conversation then turned back to Castiel, who was still looking at her, curiously.

"Well. That day, when I went to strike a deal with Death...to get Sam's soul out of the cage." Castiel nodded for her to continue. "He told me something and...it's been bothering me ever since. And with Caden in the picture...I don't know, I guess it's bothering me a little more."

"What did he say to you?"

"He said that...basically, something is going to happen to me...and that I needed to watch out for myself."

"Strange."

Natalie gave a faint laugh at Castiel's singular answer. "Yeah. Actually, I find it really freaky."

"Perhaps, he was just saying that to you. Try and get you all stirred up."

"I don't think so Cas." Natalie shook her head. "I mean, why would he? There's no reason for him to lie to me about something like that."

"Did he say anything else to you?"

"No. He never actually gave me an explanation. It was just these cryptic statements. And in all honesty, I tried to forget them. But, when Caden entered the picture...it just got me thinking about it all over again."

Castiel nodded then paused. "Wait. Do you think Caden is what Death was warning you about?"

"No. Whatever Death was mentioning, it didn't sound like something...good. And so far, Caden doesn't seem like someone I need to be cautious of. Maybe...Caden is here _because_ of what will happen."

"Well, I don't really have an explanation for you Natalie. I have never actually questioned Caden about it."

"Yeah." Natalie shrugged. "I guess it shouldn't matter, right? I mean you said that we can trust him."

"Of course." Castiel could still see that there was immense questioning going on behind her eyes. "Have you told Bobby about this? Or even Sam or Dean?"

Natalie looked up at Castiel and, hesitantly, shook her head.

"Natalie. I think it would be a good idea if you told them about it. Maybe they would be able to help."

"With what Cas?" Natalie asked. "There is literally _nothing _that we can do. We can't search for anything because we won't have anywhere to start. It's like Death gave me five puzzle pieces and expects to solve an entire puzzle with just those pieces."

"Regardless of how cryptic it might be, advising them about it would be wise. Incase, events were to start happening...they would be informed."

Natalie internally groaned. She hated it whenever they were always right about something. Especially when it involved a topic that Natalie felt strongly against. Despite her attempts to brush something off, they would always come swooping in, convincing her to the opposite of what she wanted to do. They always had an effective way for doing that.

Bobby came strolling out of the interrogation room, his hand twirling the bloody knife around and he looked up at them. "Well, he still ain't talking. Think we're gonna have to up the game pretty soon."

"We can't let this go on for to long." Castiel commented.

"Yeah. I agree." Bobby answered.

"Then give me five minutes with him." Castiel walked passed Bobby.

"Wait, what are you going to do Cas?"

Natalie looked over at Bobby, who gave her an unsure look, not knowing what he was going to do, both hunters decided against trying to talk him out of it. Castiel was already irritated enough as it was, there was no use to annoying him even more.

Both hunters were jostled by the sounds of screaming filtering out from the interrogation room and down the hallway. They both casted each other a glance before taking off towards the direction. Reaching the room, they both stopped as Castiel walked out of the room, wiping blood off of his hands.

"Eve is at 25 Buckley Street. Sam and Dean need to know."

Natalie raised her brows at him as he walked passed them and she, curiously, looked into the room, seeing that the head was no longer attached to the body. "Oh." Natalie hummed out before turning to the angel. "You really had a fun time, didn't you Cas?"

Castiel turned to Natalie. "I suggest we get to the location. And don't forget to call Sam and Dean."

Bobby and Natalie both stand in silence as Castiel walked out of the station, moving their gazes to each other, Natalie raised her brows at him.

"Well. Let's get going. Don't want him having to repeat it again."

* * *

><p>"Isn't this the same diner we were at earlier?" Dean pointed over at the building across the street from them. "You've got to be kidding. She's been here the whole time?"<p>

"Makes you wonder why she would just let us wonder out." Sam commented.

"Maybe she was just waiting for the perfect moment." Natalie remarked. "So, what are we gonna do? Just walk in there in a blaze of glory fashion?"

"No, there's only one way we're going to do this." Dean turned to Natalie. "Sam and I are gonna go in there, draw her out. And if we both don't get a shot off, then you will need to."

Natalie gave Dean a wary look. "I'm not really liking the sound of this plan. You don't sound to sure about it."

"Yeah, well, I'm not." Dean finished with a shrug.

"Oh, that's very reassuring Dean." Natalie replied, sarcastically.

Dean gave her a faint smile. "Just. You three stay out here. Alright?" Dean handed his bag over to Bobby and then nodded at Sam. "Let's go."

Natalie moved her gaze over to Sam, giving him a smile and he could read what she was really thinking through her eyes. _Be careful. _It was all Sam could read and it was really all he needed and his response was a quick nod. Natalie stood in between Castiel and Bobby, the three of them watching silently as Sam and Dean ventured into the diner and through the glass door, saw them both taking a seat at the counter.

Natalie's eyes broke away from Sam and Dean and moved along the row of diner windows, seeing that it was quite empty, possibly about seven or so people, maybe even less. Not that busy. If any of those were Eve, Natalie couldn't tell which would be here, although, Natalie found that to be very unlikely. Eve wouldn't just be sitting at a booth pretending to be enjoying some diner food. She would be somewhere else.

Her eyes moved back on the figures of Sam and Dean, seeing that Sam was just about to get up when a waitress placed two plates of food in front of them. _Seriously? Did they order food? _Natalie shuffled her feet and huffed out a breath, but she dispelled that thought very quickly. They were only in there for a few minutes. But, the look on the woman's face and the visible tension that built in Sam and Dean's shoulders, Natalie knew it was Eve. She could just feel it.

"I'm guessing that's her." Natalie motioned towards Eve through the glass door and Bobby quickly followed her gaze.

"Guess so."

The three of them watched in silence, the occasional sound of a car passing by would filter through their ears. Then, the blinds in the diner began to close, at the hands of several of the incumbents. Natalie felt her shoulders stoop up, her mouth opening slightly at what just happened.

"I don't like what just happened Bobby."

"I don't either."

Natalie looked up at him and then began to walk towards the diner when his hand, grabbed onto her arm, effectively stopping her. She turned and looked back at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Natalie's eyes widened. "Obviously this wasn't something we were expecting. We have no way of knowing what's going on in there. We need to find a way to keep an eye on what's going on inside."

"We are not going anywhere near that place, until we three can come up with another plan." Bobby countered back.

Natalie shrugged. "Bobby. We _are _the next plan. We need to do something."

"Okay, genius. What are you thinking of? Going on in there with our guns blazing? You know that's not a smart idea."

Natalie huffed. "That wasn't my idea, it's just...the blinds bobby." Natalie gestured at them with her hands.

"I know Nad. Just take a moment okay. We'll figure something out."

Natalie sighed and went to answer Bobby, when her eyes caught the site of a few people starting to walk up behind Castiel and Bobby. Natalie grabbed onto Bobby's sleeve, her eyes glued on the hybrids approaching them.

"We have company." Both Bobby and Natalie spoke, prompting them to look at each other. Then they both looked in the opposite direction. Bobby behind him and Natalie behind her. They were already surrounded by them.

"It looks like Plan B isn't going to work after all." Natalie commented.

…

The back door to the diner flew open, Castiel, Bobby and Natalie were all shoved up the small flight of steps and into the actual diner itself. Natalie looked up, seeing the looks on Sam and Dean's faces and she merely shrugged.

Castiel, Bobby and Natalie were situated near the front of the diner, close to Sam and Dean and a blonde woman. Natalie furrowed her brows at her, knowing that Eve was supposed to have been a woman with dark hair. But, it was Eve, Most likely, she was capable of doing anything.

Eve turned to Sam and Dean. "Well. Looks like your plan B has just went down the drain, hasn't it." She smirked and turned to Castiel, her head tilting. "And how are you doing? I'm older than you, Castiel. I know exactly what makes angels tick."

Eve turned her focus on Natalie and her expression turned into what Natalie could only describe as a curious amusement. Eve strolled over to her, Natalie's eyes glaring up at her and Eve's hand reached up to run her hand down Natalie's hair. "Well, look at you. Pretty young thing."

"Not really to keen on accepting compliments from you." Natalie coldly replied.

Eve could only snicker. Turning around, her attention was now back on the boys. "Work for me, because, it's a good deal. And bonus. I won't kill your friends."

"Alright, let's get one thing straight." Dean started. "The last few months we've been working for an evil dick. And you know what? We are not about to sign up to work for an evil bitch. We don't work with demons. We don't work with monsters. And if that means you gotta kill us, then kill us!"

Eve's expression turned smug as she gazed at Dean. "Or, I turn you. And you all do what I want anyway."

"Beat me with a wire hanger, the answer is still no."

Natalie gave a quick roll of the eyes at Dean's s sarcastic little reference. _Now was really not the time for that. _ And Natalie was right. Natalie was slightly thrown off kilter when Eve was suddenly standing behind Dean, her hands gripped onto his shoulders, and she was leering down near his ear.

"Don't. Test me. Dean."

Dean grimaced. "Bite. Me." He replied darkly.

Natalie watched cautiously, as Dean's words bounced around in her mind and Eve finally bit down on the side of Dean's neck. Natalie's eyes widened as she began to thrash in the grip of the hybrid that was holding her. "Dean!"

Eve staggered away from Dean, one hand covering her chest while the other was resting against her stomach and she was suffering from a very bad coughing fit. That's what it sounded like to Natalie's ears.

"Phoenix ash. One shell, one ounce of whisky. Down the hatch. Little musty on the after burn though." Dean made a quick gesture at his throat. "Call you later, mom."

Natalie watched in bewilderment as Eve began to, essentially, crumble before them. Black thick ooze and clear liquid began to stream from her head, nose and mouth. The substance dripped off her chin and the bottom of her jawline. Her breathing was becoming heavier and heavier, her attempt to get oxygen circulating through her was proving to be a vain attempt. Breaths morphed into gagging chokes until, finally, she fell to the ground, growing still, quickly.

Natalie gawked at what just happened, but only had a minute to, when the hybrid that was hold her soon began to attack her. Her arms pressed against its chest as it tried to bite at her.

"Shut your eyes!"

Looking over, Natalie could see that Castiel had gotten his powers back and he was getting ready to use it. _Shit. _Natalie threw a quick kick into the stomach of the hybrid, pushing it away from her and quickly turned around. As she did, Natalie ran right into someone, feeling their hand rest against the back of her head, resting her face against their chest and she didn't have to think on it to know that it was Sam. Natalie nestled closer to Sam's chest as a chorus of screams echoed throughout the entire diner.

The noise suddenly died and the only thing that Natalie could hear was a car alarm from outside and the steady thumps of a heart beat. Pulling away, Natalie looked up, seeing that Sam was already assessing the diner. Natalie looked over and behind him, seeing bodies strewn throughout the entire diner and she stepped away slightly to look at the scene further, feeling Sam's arm slowly move away from her.

"We need to take you on more hunts with us Cas." Bobby commented, impressed by it all.

Sam looked over at Dean, seeing that he was still holding a cloth up to his neck wound and there was quite a bit of blood. "Hey, Cas. Dean is bleeding pretty good."

"Yeah. I thinks he turned me into a Jefferson Starship. Could you probably clear that up to?"

Castiel quickly touched Dean on the shoulder, healing the wound, which made Dean touch the area on his neck, seeing that there was no blood.

"Okay, good. But, we need to go now."

"Where?" Castiel looked at him.

"The kid." Dean answered, though Natalie could hear the hesitation in his voice. "The little kid. He's one of them."

"Wait. Ryan?" Natalie questioned, complete disbelief dripping from her tone.

"Unbelievable." Castiel huffed out.

"Yeah, I know Cas, you told me. Can we just go?"

Castiel gives Dean a hardened glare and then reaches his arm out to them. They all took their hold, though Natalie couldn't help but feel incredibly disturbed by it. _Ryan was one of them. And I didn't even know it._

...

Natalie surveyed the scene at the house quietly, her arms folded closely against her chest. The uncle was lying on the floor, a puddle of blood forming under his body.

"You know, we kill the freaking bitch and she still wins. For all we know, they could've turned half the town by now." Dean said, though looking over at Castiel, he could see that the angel was about to retort. "Don't say it Cas."

Bobby finds a door, which looked like it led to the basement maybe, and it was opened just slightly. Bobby grabbed on the handle and opened it all the way, as the bodies of Ryan and Joe fell to the floor at his feet.

"I found them." Bobby called out to the rest.

Dean, Sam, Natalie and Castiel, quickly make their way over to where Bobby was, all of them stopping once they saw the bodies.

"Who the hell killed them?" Dean questioned.

Sam walked over to the bodies and knelt down, spotting a substance that wasn't blood and dipped his finger in it. "Sulfur. Demons."

"Why would demons give a crap about what was going on here?" Natalie asked.

"They probably wouldn't. Unless they had a reason to." Dean replied.

Sam stood back up and turned to Dean. "So, what do you think? Think Eve was telling the truth about Crowley?"

Natalie switched her gaze from Sam and Dean. "Crowley?" They both turned to her. "What about Crowley?"

"He's still alive." Sam answered.

"What?" Both Castiel and Natalie questioned.

Natalie looked over at the angel and pointed at him. "Crowley should be dead. You burned his bones. We all saw you burn his bones."

"I know." Castiel replied, perplexed by the information. "I have no idea...are you sure that she was certain?" Castiel looked up at Sam and Dean.

"She sounded pretty sure." Dean replied. "According to her, Crowley's still waterboarding her kids, somewhere."

Natalie shook her head. "I don't understand how he can still be alive."

"I'll find out." Castiel answered and turned to walk away but stopped and looked back over at Natalie. "And Natalie..." He waited for her to look at him. "Tell them what you told me."

Natalie's body and expression went tense as Castiel finally disappeared. Looking back over, Sam, Dean and Bobby were looking at her, curiousness written all over their faces.

"Tell us what, Nad?" Sam asked.

Natalie sighed and nodded her head. "There's something that I've been keeping from you guys for a while now. And I guess now is the time for me to tell you."

* * *

><p><strong>So what did you all think?! Again I am so sorry about the long waits in between chapters! I'm hoping that will lighten up soon.<strong>

**Now onto what I wanted to ask you. I am currently planning out how season 7 is going to go, but I wanted your help as well. I want to know, what would YOU like to see happen in season 7? Anything in particular. Anything that you would like to see that hasn't happened, please let me know. The way I am planning out season 7, it is already going to be a little bit AU but I wanted to make it a little more AU. So, put down your ideas in a review or message me. It will really help me out and your ideas might even be included in the next story! So please let me know!**

**Until next time! Xx**


	36. Chapter 36

_A/N: Here is the next update for you all! This story is almost over! I hope you all are excited for what is to come in season 7 because, in a nut shell, that is when everything will start to go down! and a MASSIVE event will happen that I am hoping will leave you all shocked! HAHA! It is way too early for me to do this to you all, but honestly, I am so excited to start writing season 7. So if I have this worked out correctly, after this chapter, there should only be TWO MORE CHAPTERS. Can't believe writing season 7 is already around the corner!_

_So, of course, this chapter is based in the episode The Man Who Would Be King and I am doing a little bit of a different take on it. By that I mean, some scenes will be different from the actual episode, just wanted to clear that up. It will be going back and forth between Castiel explaining his story and then Natalie and the boys. Just hope it won't get confusing._

_**And I have another question for you all at the end that need your answers on!**_

_**sarahmichellegellarfan1: **__I know it seems like it's dragging and I am so sorry that is not my intention. It's just I wanted to try and get through most of the major plots out of the way but this chapter they will talk a little bit about it towards the end. And also with everything going on, they would be a little distracted to truly sit down and discuss it. But I PROMISE, by either chapter 3 or 4 (and this could change) in the next story, they WILL be together because I already have the scene where Sam admits he loves her drafted out. So please hang in there!_

_Let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural._

* * *

><p><em>You know, I've been here for a very long time. And I remember many things. I remember being at a shoreline, watching a little grey fish heave itself up on the beach and an older brother saying, "don't step on that fish, Castiel. Big plans for that fish." I remember the Tower of Babel...all 37 feet of it, which I suppose was impressive at the time. And when it fell, they howled 'divine wrath'. But come on - dried dung can only be stacked so high. I remember Cain and Abel...David and Goliath...Sodom and Gomorrah. And, of course, I remember the most remarkable event. Remarkable because it never came to pass. It was averted by two boys, a broken young woman, an old drunk and a fallen angel. <em>_The grand story had been written and we ripped up the ending, disregarded the rules. And we re-wrote destiny...leaving nothing but freedom and choice.__ Which is all well and good, except... well, what if I've made the wrong choice? How am I supposed to know? I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you my story. Let me tell you everything._

_Everything had gone wrong. Crowley was more than angry with me. With Eve dead...the most efficient way to get purgatory open was now gone. Crowley was adamant though. He thought that I was starting to lose my stance on our agreement. He wanted me to kill Sam and Dean, get them out of the way so they wouldn't be a threat. I told him not to worry about them. Of course, that was my way of protecting them. Crowley wasn't going to harm them in any way. Sam or Dean. Not even Natalie or Bobby. But, I was conflicted by it all. I still thought of myself as the Winchesters' guardian and I had grown fond of Natalie. They all taught me about how to stand up...make my own choice. Made me realize what I stood for. That day, at the cemetery, I was done with. It was all over for me...until I was put back together and we had won. Stopped Armageddon. But, I could see what effect it had on everyone. The damage that it had left...and I knew there was only one thing that I could do. I had to get Sam. I went back to Hell to free him. Even though I knew it would be nearly impossible, I was confident that I would succeed in my task. But, all there was, was my sheer arrogance. Because I hadn't truly raised Sam...not all of him at least. And that mistake, caused more pain. Pain that I take full responsibility on. And maybe that should have taught me, not to make any more questionable decisions. And yet, here I was, working side by side with a demon...lying to the Winchesters and Natalie. To my brothers. It was all going to blow up in my face._

* * *

><p>If there was any other time where so much concentration could be felt in Bobby's house, Natalie couldn't think of another time. They finally knew: Sam, Dean and Bobby. Natalie finally fessed up to them about what Death had told her, months earlier. Needless to say, the three of them weren't exactly happy with the fact that she never said anything. In her defense, this was <em>exactly <em>why she never said anything. It was to avoid this kind of event. Make them feel more worried and paranoid over something that wasn't in their control. Natalie wanted to keep them uninformed about Death's cryptic messages. But, of course, Castiel had to be the one to rat her out in front of them. Annoyed, Natalie was forced to relent and she regretted it so much.

….

_"So what exactly did Cas want you to tell us?" Dean questioned for what seemed like the hundredth time._

_Natalie, who was now sitting on Bobby's couch, wringed her hands together and sighed. "The day, I went to see Dr. Robert...so that I could strike a deal with Death to get Sam's soul out of the cage...Death told me something." _

_Dean's brows raised at her. "What did he say?" _

_"He said that...something was going to happen to me and that I needed to keep an eye out for it." Natalie finished and looked up at them, waiting for a response, but all she received were confused looks and wide eyes. _

_"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bobby was the first to break._

_"Wait, so Death gives you this cryptic warning...and you didn't even think to tell us about it?" Dean questioned. _

_Natalie limply shrugged. "It wasn't something that I thought I should tell you." _

_"Oh, yeah, great that was a good idea Nad." _

_Natalie pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek. "What exactly would you guys do with this information? Nothing. There's literally nothing you can do. Death didn't give me a binder full of information. All he said was something was going to happen and that I needed to watch myself. You can't research to find an answer to this. Even he said that I needed to wait and see." _

_"Oh, that's a really comforting reassurance. Still, Nad you should've told us." _

_"I didn't want to. Because, after a while, it kind of just...got lost in my mind. It wasn't until Caden showed that I started thinking on it again." _

_Sam furrowed his brows. "You think Caden is what Death was referring to." _

_"No." Natalie shook her head. "I think what Death was talking...it's not a good thing. And I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want you all to worry." _

_"Well, we know now." Bobby said. "And, we're gonna try and find something." _

_"Don't." Natalie warned. "You won't find anything. It's not in any book...this is something that I need to find out on my own. There's nothing more that can be done."_

…_._

Since the information was passed around, they were all split up on where to focus their attentions on. Well, actually, Natalie was all on her own while Bobby, Dean and Sam grouped together to do their own research. Was it on trying to figure out why Crowley was still alive? Yes. But, they seemed to be putting more and more effort into searching for answers on Death's warning. Natalie eventually had to convince them to leave it alone and it wasn't easy. They were reluctant at first, of course, that was expected. But, Natalie made it quite clear that this wasn't about them, it was about _her._ It was something that she would have to deal with in the end, not them.

Getting the focus away from what she had told them, they began to work on finding other demons that would know the whereabouts of Crowley. Natalie decided to dig back up the old resources she had been using the past year. A few calls to David and Jake and they were able to pull back out the resources they had been using to track down Elais. Needless to say, Natalie knew that they would be curious as to why she would ask them for this favor. In a quick manner, Natalie was able to give them a fairly well summarized explanation about Crowley and Eve. They didn't really ask anymore questions after that, which she was grateful for.

But, now they had received news that they had been waiting for. David and Jake were able to track down a demon that was possessing a hunter named Red. Not necessarily something you don't hear about. The task was quick. Got the demon and dragged him back to Bobby's house, tied him to a chair, under a devil's trap and the questioning began.

Natalie was leaning against the threshold, arms crossed over her chest, eyes completely glued on the demon who was sneering at Bobby. Standing there, watching another interrogation, it was getting Natalie. It was so tempting to just start torturing the damn thing. It was taking every ounce of her, just to hold herself back.

"I gotta say Red, you've made yourself into a pretty damn good hunter. Don't know whether I should kiss you or kill you." Bobby remarked.

Red snickered at Bobby's words and rolled his head around. "Oh, just kill me already."

"That can be arranged." Natalie quietly commented, giving the demon a deadpanned look when its eyes met hers.

"Let's try this again." Bobby began. "You were the one who dug out that nest of vamps in Swan Valley, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, by the way." Sam appeared behind Natalie, standing next to her. "That was some really good work."

Red slowly nodded. "Eight vamps. One go. Then roped and tied them."

"And then you brought them to Crowley, am I right?" Bobby questioned.

"You know what, Sherlock? Why don't you read the papers? You'll see that the King is dead."

Bobby half smirked before throwing a vast amount of holy water in Red's face, steam rolled off his skin, his throat gargling with strained cries. "No. Crowley's alive. And you prove it just by being you own dumb self. His nets are all still out, except now, he's using shmucks like you to hunt down his monsters."

"Screw you."

Bobby raised his brows as he turned to Sam, holding his hand out, which allowed for Sam to hand over Ruby's knife. At that point, Dean entered the kitchen and cleared his throat, Natalie and Sam turned to him before walking over.

"I saw Cas." Dean relinquished once Natalie and Sam were standing in front of him.

Natalie's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. Told him that were just working on some crap monster hunt. He doesn't know that we're getting close to Crowley. You know something, he's our friend...and we're lying to him through our teeth. So what if he burned the wrong bones. Crowley could've tricked him."

"He's an angel Dean." Natalie replied.

"So what?" Dean quickly shot back. "He's allowed to make mistakes."

"We're saying anything yet Dean." Bobby assured. "We don't know what's going on."

"You think he's in it with Crowley?" Dean hesitantly asked.

There was a moment of silence amongst the hunters. They couldn't give their own definite answers, they had no idea what this whole thing with Crowley has in correlation with Castiel. For all they knew, maybe Castiel _was _in fact was tricked him Crowley. There was nothing they could go off from that gives them a definite answer. Everything up to this point has been based on nothing but speculation.

"Look, we don't know Dean." Bobby was the one to speak. "I hate myself for even thinking it, but..." His voice trailed off.

"But, what?" Dean asked.

"We can't just brush it off." Natalie stepped in. "We have to consider it as a possibility, because as of right now, any kind of information we can't be to sure on. And Cas is my friend too, Dean. He's our friend. I...really do hope that it's all just a mistake. I really do."

"But, if it ain't." Bobby added. "If there is even a snowball's chance here that he's been playing us...that means we're dealing with a Superman who's gone dark side. And that means we have to be cautious, we got to play it smart. Maybe even start stocking up on Kryptonite. But, right now, we need to deal with one problem at a time. And that's Crowley."

….

Natalie huffed out a breath, her eyes gazing up at the night sky and she pulled the jacket closer to her body to protect herself from the slightly cold air. Her eyes then quickly closed. "Caden. It's me. Not sure if you'll be able to answer this because I know that you got into a little bit of a...situation, at least that's what Cas told me. Anyway, I...I need to see right now. There's something really important that I need to tell you."

"Hello."

Natalie turned around, seeing the angel standing before her and she gave him a quick nod. "Nice to see you again. How have you been?"

Caden tilted his head in thought. "Better than I should be probably."

"Things still pretty nasty up in heaven?"

"It's been a little calmer than usual."

Natalie nodded and then placed her hands in her pockets as she made her way closer to him. "Listen, Caden. There's something I have to tell you and I know you're not gonna like it."

"What is it?"

"Crowley is still alive."

Caden, who usually never really showed any kind of emotion, sported genuine confusion, which Natalie found a little odd to see on the angel's face. "What do you mean? Crowley is dead. Castiel burned his bones months ago."

"Yeah..." Natalie raised her brows. "That's what we though too. But, then, when we went to confront Eve, she told us that he was alive."

"And, you're believing what Eve said? Why?"

Natalie shrugged. "She said that she saw him through the eyes of every child that he tortured. I don't see why Eve would lie to us about Crowley. I mean, he tortured her children, I don't think she would ever want to help him in any way."

"Crowley managed to trick Castiel with the wrong bones? Do you know where Crowley is?"

"No. But, we have been searching for him, tracking down demons that might be able to spill his location. Nothing concrete so far, but we are getting close."

"I have to tell Castiel. Let him know you four are looking for him."

Natalie was quick to react. "No! Caden! Don't, you can't say anything to him."

"Why not?"

"I can trust you, right? You always told me that."

"Of course you can."

"Okay, then I need you to keep quiet about this. Castiel can't know that we have been looking for Crowley. If anything, he needs to hear it from us, but you can't utter a word of this to him or anyone else."

"Why can't Castiel know..." Caden paused as his mind began to piece together the information. "You think that...you think that Castiel might be involved with Crowley?"

"I didn't say that." Natalie quickly added.

"No, but I can see it. I can tell that's what you're thinking Natalie."

"It's not proven yet, but we do think that it might be a possibility. That's why I need you to stay quiet. Don't confront Cas about it. Not until we figure out the entire truth."

Caden sighed and shrugged. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just stay with Cas. Don't act any different, don't bring it up. Just keep your eyes and ear peeled. If anything happens, that you think we should know, I want you to find us okay? I trust you Caden...please don't throw that back in my face."

"Fine. I won't say anything."

* * *

><p><em>They were already suspicious and it was something that I had expected. You can't be as perceptive as these four are and not start to feel something is wrong. I didn't know about Caden until later on. I should've known they might consult him about it, but it didn't even occur to me. He was able to hide it very well from me, which was something I should've been able to see through. But, I could tell. Dean was trying so hard to be loyal, even though every other instinct was going against it. But, Red had broken under their treatment. They would now be on their way to see Ellsworth. If there was a demon counterpart to Bobby Singer, Ellsworth would be it. He would be the one to lead them directly to Crowley, and Crowley would kill them. All of them. Without any kind of hesitation. I had no choice. I did it to protect them. Or to protect myself. I suppose, it was on both parts. I really don't know anymore.<em>

_But, I had to be sure that any kind of evidence was gone. Eradicated, so that nothing would be left behind. My motives...they used to be so pure. But, they have become so corrupt. Even when I returned to heaven. all the other angels, viewed me as the chosen leader from God. To lead them. But, I told them that God wanted them to have their own freedom. Of course, If I had known what I do now, I would've told them, "Freedom is a length of rope and God wants you to hang yourself with it." In the end, I felt that it was my calling, to teach the other angels what freedom was and that was surprisingly difficult. Explaining freedom to angels is a bit like teaching poetry to fish. And then there was Raphael...wasn't exactly what I would call a "warm welcoming" from him and I'm not afraid to say that my big brother knocked me into next week. He gave me an ultimatum...surrender to him or me and everyone who followed me would die._

* * *

><p>Walking over to the back door, Sam jiggled the handle, finding that it was, fortunately, unlocked and opened the door. Entering, both hunters held their guns in an aim, taking slow steps into the house. They both split up, Sam to the left and Natalie to the right. Natalie was greeted by another door in a short time and pressing her hand against the wood, the door was not closed all the way and she slowly pushed it open, quickly retracting her hand back to the handle of her gun. Her eyes took stock of the room, empty, aside from a few chairs sprawled across the floor. Slowly backing out of the room, turning around, she and Sam met back up and walked out another door that led towards the main part of the house.<p>

Dean and Bobby had already done their sweep of the front section, both of them standing in the middle of the room, when their attentions were caught by Sam and Natalie walking out.

"The house is clear from the back." Sam said, both him and Natalie stashing their guns into their beltlines.

"It looks like the demons that tipped and then took off." Dean commented, his eyes taking another sweep around the room.

"Yeah and I wonder who tipped them." Natalie quietly muttered, as she looked around the front room and her eyes then trailed behind her, looking into what seemed to be the kitchen and there was something that caught her attention.

"Okay, is it just me or is this place clean?" She asked, moving her gaze over the other others.

"Well, yeah, it's clean, I mean no one is-"

"No." Natalie interrupted Dean. "I mean it's clean like...squeaky clean."

"That was the next thing I was gonna bring up." Bobby said. "I mean it's like this demon had an extreme case of OCD, which is not something you see with demons."

"So, either this demon really did have a bad case of OCD, or..." Natalie paused and pursed her lips. "Someone came in here and finished up the job before we could."

Dean remained quiet, watching Natalie's features carefully, becoming well aware of what she was thinking or at least, it's what her gut feeling was telling her. Castiel had something to do with this. Dean slowly shook his head. "Well, one way we can find out. We're gonna call Cas."

"Dean." Sam warned. "We talked about this."

"No, we didn't." Dean quickly retorted. "This is Cas you guys. Come on, when there was no one and we were stuck he always broke ranks. He has gone to the mat cut and bleeding for us to many times. This is Cas. And don't you think that we owe him the benefit of the doubt at least?"

Dean was really the only on in the group who wasn't putting up much of a defense against Castiel. Even though, Natalie and Sam could see that he was just trying to be objective, but Natalie could see in his eyes, there was so much turmoil that Dean was going through. He didn't want to consider that their speculations might be right, but even in the back of his mind Dean's instincts, his gut feeling, was turning his decreasing loyalty into doubt.

Sam casted his doubtful look over to Natalie, silently asking her which side she was going to take on this. Natalie shrugged her shoulders at him, causing Sam to sigh. "Fine." Sam breathed out. "Castiel...this is really important, okay? And we really need you down here...so that we can talk with you."

Natalie folded her arms over her chest, eyes looking around the room, waiting for the angel to appear, but he didn't. "Guess he's a little to busy to answer." She remarked.

"It's fine. He's busy." Dean said.

"We're busy as well. So, let's get back to looking for another demon." Bobby spoke up. "We found one. We can find another. Let's go."

Natalie sighed, waiting for them to make for the door before she started following them. Natalie was then caught off guard, not able to react fast enough, when a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and an immense force threw her backwards. Sucking in a sharp breath, Natalie only had a brief moment to see Dean, Sam and Bobby turn to look at her before they quickly left her vision. Her body crashed through the already weakened walls and fell to the ground, sliding across the floor until she finally made a soft contact with a wall.

Natalie choked out cries, slowly moving onto her side, and a commotion ensuing in the front room garnered her attention. Natalie tried to push herself up when the hand grabbed onto her jacket collar, throwing up against the wall. Natalie gripped onto the arm that was holding her and looked up, seeing the attacker's eyes turn black. In a quick move, Natalie kicked the demon in the shin and with enough leverage, gained enough access to throw a punch across the demon's face. He rebutted, slamming her back against the wall and cut a punch across her face.

Natalie immediately felt dizzy, her eyes scrunching closed, teeth digging down into her bottom lip as her head pounded senselessly. A strong iron flavor filled her mouth as his hand secured around her neck, forcing her to look at him. Natalie began to muster what strength she could when a bright light erupted from the demon's eyes and mouth. Natalie turned her head away, eyes closed as the grip on her neck loosened and the body fell to the ground.

Letting out a strained cough, Natalie looked up in time to see Castiel kill another demon that had tried to go after him and the body slumped to the ground. Rubbing her neck, Natalie huffed out heavy breaths as Castiel turned to her and then took a hold of her arm, leading her out of the room where Dean, Sam and Bobby were recovering from their attacks.

"You alright?" Dean asked, seeing the blooding coming down the side of her mouth.

"Yeah." Natalie brought her hand up and wiped at the trail.

Dean nodded and then looked over at Castiel. "It's good to see you Cas."

"I'm just glad that I got here in time." Castiel said, taking a quick sweep of the hunters. "But, I come with news. I now firmly believe that Crowley is alive."

Dean raised his brows and hummed, "Well, what do you think about that guys? Cas, saving our asses again."

Bobby nodded his relent. "I suppose we all owe you an apology Cas."

Castiel casted them a confused glance. "Why?"

"We've been hunting Crowley this whole time...and keeping it from you." Sam answered.

Natalie pursed her lips together. "We...thought that you and Crowley were working together."

"You thought what?"

"I know, it's crazy." Dean offered.

"It's just that you torched the wrong bones and..." Bobby paused and shook his head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. We were wrong."

"You know...you all could've just asked me about it."

"And we should have. We never should've doubted you. I just hope that you can forgive us Cas."

Castiel looked at the hunters before them, seeing the trust coming back to them, it was eating away at him. Still, he couldn't blow his cover. "It's forgiven."

"Thanks, Cas." Dean said, relieved.

"It is a little absurd, though." The angel added.

Bobby nodded. "We know."

"Superman going to the dark side. I'm still just Castiel."

Natalie's body immediately went tense, her lips forming into a quick and stern frown as her eyes met Sam's. They both could see the switch in each other's eyes. They had him now. Looking over at Dean, Natalie could see the final defeat beat down on him.

"Guess we can put away the Kryptonite." Dean offered.

Castiel nodded. "Exactly."

* * *

><p><em>I didn't know it then, but in that moment, I had made my final mistake. The one that gave it all away. I knew that there was a risk, going in there and saving them from Crowley's men. But, how could I just sit by and watch them get butchered? I still considered them my friends...I had to save them, even though I knew that Crowley wouldn't like it. In that moment of helping them, I felt like myself. Like I was the Castiel before I agreed to this deal with a demon. During the year, after the Apocalypse, several times, when I had doubted myself, I had made the trip to visit Dean. To try and ask him to help, but I then realized...everything that he had went through...what he <em>was_ going through during that time...he had given up so much. I couldn't just ask him for more help. And because of that, I went along with the plan with Crowley. _

_But, I began to feel myself become full of pride...pride that I wish I could've just scrubbed clean. It was this kind of self-induced pride that helped put me on the road of where I am today. I went back to heaven, to declare my side. I would not kneel down before Raphael, so I gave an ultimatum. Either they were with Raphael or with me. That decree...it led me on the path of nearly complete destruction and forced me to lie to the people who trusted me more than anything. _

* * *

><p>The last bit of the oil circle was made and Natalie stepped away from it, walking over to her bag, which was in the other room, and set the container down on the ground. Walking back out, she leaned against the threshold, her arms sitting comfortably across her chest. The room was quiet. All of them having already discussed their plan. To trap Castiel. To get the answers that they needed...the truth. But, it didn't mean that either of them liked it. Castiel was someone they trusted and to have to, seemingly, thrown back in their faces was a harsh reality to wrap their minds around.<p>

"Still can't believe he would turn on us." Dean finally said, breaking the silence.

"It's not like it's easy for us to believe either Dean." Natalie said. "But, we don't know the full story."

"Come on, Nad. It's probably the most obvious thing, staring at us right in the face." Dean retorted.

"Maybe." Natalie paused and sighed. "But, there might be more to the story. Details that we don't know about. Which is why we need Cas to get his ass back down here."

"And what do we do when the truth comes out? And he is working for Crowley?" Dean challenged.

Natalie shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now...we just need to know the truth."

Dean nodded and took in a deep breath. "Castiel. We need you for a little powwow down here so...come on down."

"Hello."

The four hunters, surprised at his quick arrival, all tried to put on the best expressions they could. "Well, look at that. Johnny is right on the spot."

"You're all still here?" Castiel inquired, curiously.

"Yeah, well uh...we had to bury the bodies." Sam answered.

"And we found a little whiskey." Dean added. "Thanks for coming."

Castiel nodded. "How can I help?"

The four hunters, idly, moved closer to the circle, which Castiel was currently standing in. Thankfully, that part of the plan worked out well. "Listen, we have a new plan. Think we've figured out a way to track Crowley down." Sam offered.

Castiel tilted his head. "What is it?"

"It's you." Bobby pulled out a couple of matches, lit them and threw them onto the ground as a blazing fire ring encircled Castiel in a trap.

Castiel looked at the ring around him, his eyes moving up to the hunters, his brows creasing with confusion. "What are you doing?"

Dean stood up from his seat. "We gotta talk."

"About what?" Castiel asked. "Let me go."

"About Superman...and Kryptonite." Dean offered, seeing the look on the angel's face dropped seemed to pull a sensory in all of the hunters.

"How long have you been spying on us Cas?" Sam asked.

"Okay, just wait. I don't even know what you all mean."

"You don't?" Natalie asked. "Then, why is this demon home so squeaky clean then? Not something you see in a typical demon home, now do you?"

"And how exactly did Crowley trick you with the wrong bones?" Bobby was the next to put in his questioned.

Crowley nodded, taking the questions into stride. "Listen. It's hard to understand. It's hard to explain. Just, please, let me go. Let me out and I can explain."

"You gotta look at me man." Dean spoke up. "Okay? You gotta tell us what's going on. Look me in the eye and tell me you're not working for Crowley."

It went silent between them, Dean and Castiel silently challenging each other until Castiel finally looked down. The action sent a wave of disbelief through the hunters.

"You son of a bitch." Dean quietly muttered. "You can Crowley...been going after Purgatory together? This whole time, just you and him."

"No." Castiel shook his head, finally willing himself to look at them. "I did it to protect you...I did it to protect all of you."

Natalie shook her head. "Cas, no. You saw what just a little crack could release and that was Eve. Now you want to go and open up the entire gate!"

"Nad's right Cas." Bobby said. "Who knows what else could walk on out from Purgatory."

"To get the souls. That's why I need to open Purgatory. I can stop Raphael! Please you just have to trust me."

"Trust you?" Sam called out. "How in the hell are we supposed to trust you now?"

"It's still me. I'm still your friend." Castiel's stance had turned into almost like a plea. He wanted them to understand why he was doing this, wanted them to trust him. Castiel then turned to look at Sam. "Sam. I was the one who raised you from perdition."

Natalie's eyes widened as she looked over at Sam, seeing the same look of bewilderment cross his face. "Well, no offense, but...you did a really piss-poor job of it. Wait. Did you bring me back soulless, on purpose?"

"How could you think that?" Castiel asked, truly confused and a little horrified that Sam would even question that.

"Well, I'm thinking a lot of things right now, Cas."

Natalie watched Castiel, seeing the confliction in his eyes and genuine shock that Sam would actually think that. "Listen." Castiel began. "Raphael will kill us all. He'll turn the world into a graveyard. I had no choice. Everything about this...with opening Purgatory...it's all complicated."

"No, actually, it's not Cas." Dean retorted. "Why else would you keep this whole thing a secret, unless you knew that it was wrong? When crap like this comes around, we deal with it...like we always have. What we don't do is we don't go out and make another deal with the devil."

"It sounds to simple when you say it like that. Where were you when I needed to hear it?"

"I was there. Where were you?" Dean huffed out a breath and shook his head. "You should've come to us for help Cas."

"Maybe."

Natalie's brows creased when she heard a pick up in the wind outside. Looking out one of the windows, the trees were moving wildly and she could see a large smoke cloud beginning to make its way over to the house. "Guys."

They all turn their gazes out the window, seeing that the cloud was getting closer and Castiel knew he had to get them out. "It's too late now. I can't turn back."

"No. It's not too late, Cas! We can fix this!" Dean called.

"Dean. It's not broken. You four have to go...now! Run!"

Natalie quickly turned and picked up her bag from the kitchen and slid her arms through the straps, before dashing out the door. Stepping off the porch, Natalie slowed down her pace, looking up to see that the demon smoke was just beginning to make its way into the home. A tug on her arm, by Sam, prompted her to quicken her pace and she opened up the car door, sliding in. Dean turned on the ignition, shifted the car into gear and sped down the dirt road.

* * *

><p>Distractions are always greatly appreciated, especially, when there are certain thoughts someone would rather not think about. It had only been a day or possibly two, none of them really knew. The four of them were cooped up at Bobby's house, trying to make sense what they had learned about Castiel. What exactly do they do with this information? Really, nothing? They certainly can't convince him to stop, he made that quite clear last night. Perhaps, find a different way to stop it. That was the idea they all went with.<p>

Bobby had began to do his own research with them, finding an unlikely resource in some fiction books written by Lovecraft. Not exactly the type of source material hunter would be expected to turn to. They all came to the same conclusion that there was a possibility, Lovecraft new something about Purgatory. Something that they could probably use. It was a long shot, but they all were willing to take it, considering the fact they really had nothing.

Then there was the matter of Caden. Natalie had yet to pray for him, she hasn't told him what they found out about Castiel. She really didn't know how to tell him, really. Caden was loyal to the angels and he had been helping Castiel, following him. To learn of this would most likely destroy him.

Natalie opened the front door, that led to the porch, and stopped, seeing Sam, with his back turned to her. She had a thought to slowly walk back in, but Sam turned to look at her and she couldn't just leave. Instead, Natalie walked fully out onto the porch and stood next to him, a silence filling in between them.

This was still a thing going on. Both of them being fairly quiet with each other, not really engaging in any kind of conversation. A few words would be exchanged and nothing more. It, luckily, didn't seem to bother Dean anymore, after all, he was still troubling over the revelation of Castiel's partnership with Crowley. Dean had been quiet about it and Natalie was worried about him, but she was also worried about Sam. Castiel was the one who saved him from hell, that's been kept from him for so long and then to suddenly have it brought up, it probably isn't the easiest thing to process.

Natalie sighed and finally looked up at him. "How are you feeling?"

Sam, slightly surprised at her question, raised his brows and sighed. "Well, I'm not okay. The simplistic answer."

"Good. Because I would've thought you were crazy if you were alright." Natalie let a small smile appear when she saw the faintest hint of one crossing Sam's lips. "But, how do you feel about the whole fact that...Cas, was the one who brought you back? I mean he did kind of just...unloaded it on you."

Sam shrugged silently. "I don't really know Nad. I mean...it was him the whole time, he never said anything. Even when he found out I was soulless, he didn't speak up."

"Look, I don't know if this is really any help to you, but I don't think Cas meant to bring you back soulless Sam." Natalie offered. "I mean, he was just as surprised as Dean and I were. Do you think he did?"

Sam huffed and shook his head. "No, not really. It's all just kind of...muddled in my mind. I mean, I don't think he would, but, considering that he's kept...this from us...I really don't know what to believe."

"That's understandable." Natalie leaned her elbows on the porch railing.

Sam looked at her when a small laugh finally escaped. "It's kind of a shocker really." Natalie looked up at him, brows creased. "Are we actually having a decent conversation?"

Natalie's lips curled into a full on smile as she straightened her back. "Yeah. Listen, um, about all of...that. I'm sorry about making it seem so...awkward."

"It wasn't all you Nad." Sam offered truthfully. "I was a big part of it as well."

"No, but, every time you tried to talk to me about it...I would just shut you down. And that really makes me a hypocrite. I mean I just...poured it all out to you and expected an answer...and now when you want to talk about it...I don't want to hear it. It's not fair of me to do that." She moved her gaze over to him. "And I'm sorry. It's just, something always comes up and I just. I know it seems like I don't want to talk about it...but I do."

"Something always gets in the way. I know. All of this is just...things we need to deal with. I understand Nad. I feel the same way."

"Right now, really isn't the best time to go into a full on discussion. And I just want everything to be handled with first and then, maybe we can really sit down and talk about it."

Sam nodded, biting on his bottom lip, feeling conflicted on it. He wanted to talk about it, but he was so distracted with all of this. Castiel and Crowley being alive. "I can agree with that."

Natalie nodded. "Have you...have you even come to a conclusion yet?"

Sam's expression softened immediately, turning his gaze to overlook the yard, he braced his hands on the railing. But, it was really all Natalie needed to know. The way his stance changed and the look on his face. She knew.

"It's fine." She finally spoke up. "I'm not rushing you, kind of hard to do that, considering with all that's going on. But, it is something that...I'm gonna need to know soon."

Sam cinched his lips to the side, feeling that he was about to test the waters a little to quickly. "And, what if my answer isn't the same as yours?" Sam kept his gaze away from, but he could just feel her posture change.

Natalie sucked in a quiet breath, a little taken back from his question, though, she made sure not to make it noticeable. "Then...that's that. We stop...this thing between us, because I can't keep going with it...if were not on the same page."

"Yeah." Sam quietly mumbled. A silence fell over them, but it was different this time. There was no awkwardness and there was no tension. It was just empty. None of them knowing what to say next about the matter. "I'm gonna...go do some more digging on Lovecraft." Sam finally said, turning away from the railing.

Natalie quietly nodded. "Okay."

Sam, in a automatic movement, took hold of Natalie's hand, giving it a few gentle squeezes as he began to walk back to the door. Natalie's hand tightened its hold on Sam's, her arm moving back to accommodate Sam moving towards the door. With her arm stretch out behind her, their hands still intertwined, both remained still, each of them savoring this kind of touch that had been so distant between them. Sam's thumb brushed over the top of her hand, which almost seemed to break her. That motion was something he had done so often, this time, it was an act of reassurance. A comforting notion that told her, somehow, everything would turn out fine.

Natalie let out a breath, her hand giving a very faint squeeze when they both, simultaneously, loosened their holds on each other. Natalie's arm hung numbly by her side and her head leaned back slightly, her eyes glazing over and she quickly blinked, effectively ridding of any tears that might've escaped.

Even with her mind still jumbled, Natalie closed her eyes and began to pray. "Caden. It's me again. I've got something to tell you...once again. So, you need to get down here." Natalie licked at her lips and then opened her eyes in time to hear the sound of wings appear next to her. Turning she saw Caden standing on the porch, hands in his coat pockets and she offered him a quick smile.

"I like that you seem to always be on the spot when you get prayed to."

"Well, I know you have information on Castiel. It's an important matter."

Natalie nodded and sighed heavily. "We managed to get Cas to tell us what's going on and...he's been working with Crowley for the past year. They both are trying to get Purgatory open."

Caden's brows creased, his mouth was agape just slightly, as he tried to make sense of it. "Purgatory...okay, he's trying to open it...he's going to harvest souls from there. Why else would he turn to that kind of resource? But, this isn't good."

"I know." Natalie spoke up. "We tried telling him that. But, Caden, he's so far into this with Crowley. He can't and he won't get out of it. Cas really believes that this is the only way to stop Raphael."

"Castiel should know better than that. Purgatory isn't some place where you can just mess with and not expect any kind of repercussions to come out of it."

"Well, try telling Cas that."

"He's been working with Crowley...the whole time. So this plan to open Purgatory is what he was talking about. About his whole plan that he was coming up with, to stop Raphael."

"I'm sorry Caden. You think any other angel that follows him, would know about this?

Caden shook his head. "No. But, I have to be able to tell someone. I haven't spoken a word about this to any of the other angels. But, now...it's different Natalie. They need to know."

Natalie's shoulders stooped up her head slowly shaking at his statement. "Caden, I don't think now is the best time to move against Cas. I mean, he is determined to go through with this and I don't want anything bad to happen."

"Castiel would never do anything of that sort...harm an angel. Unless, well, he had to."

"Exactly." Natalie breathed. "You confront him, tell him how wrong he is, that lets him know you're against him. Don't do anything yet. We're trying to figure another plan that might work, I have no idea if it will."

"Well, if it doesn't, I'm going to have to come up with a plan of my own. It won't be drastic, but, I'm going to have to confront him at one point Natalie."

"I understand, just not now."

Natalie's attention was captured by Dean's voice coming from inside the house and he sounded like he was in a panic. Like something was seriously wrong. Natalie, without any regard, turned to the door and pulled it open and walked into the house, unknowing that Caden had followed her. Stopping in the kitchen, Natalie saw Dean was on the phone when the words that came out of his mouth made her blood run cold.

"Crowley you let them go or I swear, I am going to kill you."

_"That's so adorable Dean, I love it when you get all threatening. Don't worry, though, I won't hurt them. Provided that you and everyone else stand down. Got it? Good. Kisses." _

Natalie watched as Dean slowly pulled the phone away from his ear, the unmistakable seething rage was pouring off of him and it made her scared to even asked what that was all about, but she went with it. "Dean. What's going on?"

"Crowley." He growled. "He's got Lisa and Ben."

* * *

><p><strong>So how did you all like it! It is shorter than the previous few chapters have been which was easy on me! <strong>

**Now onto the question I wanted to ask. Would you guys like for Dean to have his own love interest? Or would you rather not have that? I really would like to know your answers because, if it calls for it, I'm gonna need to start planning her introduction. So please let me know in a review or message me! Until next time!**


	37. Chapter 37

_A/N: ONE MORE CHAPTER! Hope you guys are excited for the finale and the next story as well! Also, there is another poll up on my profile. I know, ANOTHER ONE? Yes, I really need you guys to answer the question. It will effect how the next story will be written out, plot wise and character wise._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

><p>"He has Lisa and Ben." Dean repeated grimly, his eyes moved their gazes down.<p>

Natalie's brows creased in thought. "Lisa and Ben." She repeated the names when her brows raised. "You mean, Lisa and Ben, they were who you were living with for the past year."

"Yeah." Dean nodded, his sight still focused on the phone in his hand as he began to fumble with the device. "Crowley said they get to live as long as we sit on our thumbs."

Natalie scoffed in her own opposition. "Well, we're not going to do that. We're not going to let Crowley dictate our choices. We need to find them."

"I agree Nad, but if Crowley finds out in any way we're trying to get to him...Lisa and Ben are screwed." Bobby said, bringing some sense into Natalie's thought.

Sam sighed, his hand washing down the side of his face when he looked over at Caden, at first, not really acknowledging the angel's presence. "Caden." The angel turned to him. "Do you think Cas knew about this?"

"I seriously doubt it." His answered managed to receive a skeptical huff from Dean. "Castiel may be desperate, to defeat Raphael, but I don't think he would ever let something like this to happen. Especially if it was anyone who you all cared for."

"You know." Dean cleared his throat, turning fully to Caden. "I'm having a little hard time believing that."

"It's understandable." Caden simply replied.

"Did you know?"

Caden's expression darkened at Dean's question. "About this? Of course not, I only _just _found out that Castiel had been working with a demon for a year. You really think I would know about this?"

"Well, my trust in angels is a little spotty right now."

"I'm going to offer my help in this." Caden said steering the conversation onto a different route.

Dean stared at Caden, his eyes narrowing in almost a condescending way. "I don't want your help in this."

"You may not want my help, but you definitely need it Dean." Caden retorted. "You all can sit down and do what Crowley says, but know that something will eventually happen to them if you don't do something. So, I'm going to help you."

"How?" Natalie asked, turning to the angel.

Caden paused for a moment and nodded. "Just trust me, for now if you want. I'll find out where Crowley is hiding them."

Natalie turned fully to Caden, eyes curiously looking at him. "How exactly are you going to do this?" She asked again, hoping to get an actual answer from him.

"I might need to get help, but you won't need to worry. I'll find out where Crowley is keeping Lisa and Ben. But, I know that this information you told me, about Castiel, is something another angel needs to know about."

Natalie's expression turned cautious, her head tilting to the side. "Be careful who you tell Caden. Really right now, you can't be trusting anyone and I don't want Cas knowing you're, essentially, going behind his back."

"I appreciate your concern, but I will be fine."

"You might say that, but, Cas really thinks what he's doing is the right thing. Plus, he's stubborn, like every angel I've met. I don't think anyone will be able change his mind about this. And if anyone gets in his way..."

Caden shook his head, not willing to allow himself to fully believe that his brother was out of sensible reach. There should still be a way to convince him to divert from this diabolic partnership with Crowley. "Castiel is my brother. I'll be able to reach through to him. He's not gone…not yet at least."

Natalie had to admit that this was one thing she admired about Caden, other than him always being there to save her ass. But, he is loyal to a fault. Granted, she has met other angels who were loyal in their own ways, but with Caden, Natalie saw a lot of herself in him. In the sense that, they both had utter faith in those they love and cared about. Unwaveringly belief and faith in everyone they loved and trusted. It was a quality they both could use as a strength, but it could also be their biggest weakness.

"Who is the other angel you're going to pass this information onto?" Natalie asked, suddenly curious.

"Balthazar." Caden saw the look on Natalie's face and he nodded his head, quick to reassure her. "I know you three haven't had the best impressions of him, but, both him and I have been helping Castiel with this. He needs to know."

"Okay, well..." Natalie sighed and rubbed behind her neck. "Just, be careful. I guess that's all I can say."

"I'll be fine." Caden assured her, then he pointed his direction back at Dean. "I'll be back soon with information on Lisa and Ben."

Dean gave Caden a subtle side glance, then gave a stern, single nod. This action gave the angel his cue to leave and left the hunters in silence.

Natalie blew out a sigh and turned to look at Dean, who was still standing in a frozen matter, looking like he wouldn't be able to function properly. "Dean." Natalie spoke up, pausing in her own hesitation. "Caden is going to find out where they are."

Dean nodded silently, but Natalie could see the anger pouring off of him. "You trust him?"

Natalie blinked, caught off guard by the menace in his tone. "I don't know. I guess I do. I know what I said to Caden was true, about not being able to trust anyone. But, I don't know, with him...I just feel like he's someone we can confide in. And if I'm wrong...then I'm going to swear off trusting anyone else."

Dean tossed his phone onto the kitchen table, a few feet from him, causing Natalie to jump as the object made a sudden sharp noise on impact. "Well, while your little angel friend is doing his part, I'm going to be doing mine." Dean turned towards Natalie and the look in his eyes made Natalie step back as he walked past her.

"Dean, wait." Natalie quickly turned, seeing that he had stopped with his back still turned towards her. "What are you going to do?"

"Simple." Dean slowly turned to look at her. "I'm gonna take after Crowley...and torture every damn demon I can. Like you said Nad, it's an easy way to get info, right?"

Natalie sucked in a silent breath, her jaw clinching together at Dean referencing back to when she tortured that demon for information on Elais. She swallowed down the urge to retort back, knowing she had no room to argue and settled for only giving him a quick nod.

* * *

><p>The air was thick with an icy chill, every breath that Caden let out would collect in huge puffs of smoke that swirled within each other. Of course, he wasn't cold, that wasn't something that Angels felt. If anything, Caden would describe it as feeling like a very thin layer of ice was covering your skin and the temperature was only just barely penetrating the top layer of skin. The only think you would feel is a very distant chill, although sometimes, the sensation really annoyed Caden, but right now, he could care less.<p>

He had been searching for Balthazar, tracking down the previous locations he had visited and found nothing. The last place Caden visited was a location that made him very uncomfortable. He recalled it from a familiar memory from what Castiel described a place as, "a den of iniquity" and from that description, Caden always wondered how Castiel had managed to live through that. Literally. Caden also heard of the things Castiel did during the events leading up to what was supposed to be the Apocalypse. One such event, that he had ridden in a car, which he described as slow and confining.

This was the Castiel that Caden looked up to, the brother who Caden pledged his loyalty to, even before he chose to join him in this civil war. Caden was one of the younger angels in the garrison, therefore, he was susceptible to looking up to the older angels, looking to them for guidance and how to be a good soldier. That's what angels were, warriors under God. But, Castiel was the only one to prove that there was more to being an angel then just following orders. Free Will. A concept that Caden had never gotten the full grasp of. Until he began to follow Castiel and his interaction with Natalie began to effect him. Emotions, something only humans were to evoke, began to become a part of Caden.

His loyalty to Castiel, his brothers...to Natalie, it was so profound, he felt conflicted most of the time. Right now, he was perplexed. How could Castiel work with a demon and keep it from him? From everyone? Why would Castiel think that this was the only way to defeat Raphael? There had to be something else they could do. Right? Caden was even beginning to doubt the possibility of finding another alternative, which was why he needed to consult with Balthazar.

Caden walked back and forth in a slow even pace, when he turned around and began to walk the opposite direction, facing the tree line, he heard the flapping of wings behind him. Stopping his pacing, Caden turned and saw Balthazar with a glass in his hand.

"I heard that you have been looking for me Caden. Been everywhere that I visited huh?" Balthazar brought the glass up to his lips, taking a quick drink.

"Well, I needed to see you, which is why I summoned you...quite a few times actually." Caden's tone tipped towards annoyance at the end.

"Ah, yes about that...I was in the middle of something very important and I couldn't take any calls."

Caden lips ticked into a quick, agitated smile. "And what was so important that you ignored my previous summoning?"

Balthazar took another drink and then stared at Caden as he swallowed the liquid. "I was drinking '75 Dom out of a beautiful soprano's navel."

Caden's eyes closed in disgust, a heavy breath followed it.

"It was actually quite the eventful night." Balthazar added, much to Caden's dismay and his strong desire to not hear about it any further was quite evident, even though Balthazar didn't respect that.

"Well, if you could put away your...delightful memories for a moment, because there is something very important I need to discuss with you. There is a big problem."

"Oh. Did you get into more trouble Caden?" Balthazar tilted his head and grinned. "The young little brother you are, always getting into trouble you shouldn't be a part of. Gotta say, you've been doing that a lot lately."

"Those angels went after me first, I had to retaliate." Caden retorted, feeling the sudden need to defend himself. "But, it has nothing to do with me...it's about Castiel."

"Oh yes, the great mighty Castiel, who is going to lead the army against Raphael. What is it about dear old Cas that I need to know?" Balthazar began to take another drink out of his glass, half of his attention was not towards this.

Caden sighed, recognizing his brother's resilience to listen when he didn't want to. "Well, first off, Crowley is alive."

Balthazar pulled the glass away, smacking his lips together, ridding of the excess liquid that was on his lips. "Oh, yes I knew about that already."

Caden's brows shot up and he blinked several times. "What? You knew?"

Balthazar shrugged and nodded.

Caden, closed his eyes momentarily and took in a breath. "You mean to tell me, that you knew Crowley was alive."

"Do your ears need to be checked little brother?" Balthazar teased, earning a hardened stare from Caden. At this, Balthazar leaned back and sighed, his eyes giving a casual roll. "Okay, yes, I knew Crowley was alive, Cas told me about it."

"Castiel told you." Caden repeated. "And why was I not told about this?"

"Well, Cas didn't want you to know. He knew, the loyalty you had with the lovely Miss Natalie. And her close relationship with the Winchesters, well, I guess you can make the connection. He didn't want you going and blabbering your mouth to them."

"You should have told me. I put my loyalty in his hands, followed him, did whatever he needed me to do. I trusted him. I trusted you. And you both throw that back in my face. My loyalty to Castiel was all I had to give him."

"Now, Caden, there is no need to throw a temper tantrum at this." Balthazar mockingly teased as he drank the last bit of liquid from his glass. "I'm sure Cas was going to tell you eventually."

"I don't believe that, since he was already keeping something else from us." Caden washed his hands down his face, giving a frustrated sigh. When he looked back up, Balthazar was sporting a genuine confused expression and it only took Caden a second to realized he had him hooked.

"Cas...what do you mean he's been keeping something else?" Balthazar asked, trying to not make himself seem to curious to know.

Caden slowly nodded his head. "Castiel and Crowley, have been working together, the entire year."

The look on Balthazar's face told Caden everything, he didn't even have a clue about the partnership. Even though he was trying to hide his shock as best as he could, Caden could see right through it. He had grown good with seeing through Balthazar's many masks.

"Guess Castiel never told you did he?" Caden mocked, although it didn't have the same reaction on Balthazar as it did on Caden just a few moments ago.

Balthazar broke gaze with Caden for a moment, his hand rubbing at his chin, trying to gather his thoughts. "How did you come across this information?"

"Natalie." Caden answered looking back at him.

Balthazar scoffed and grinned. "And you are taking their word for it?"

"They managed to get Castiel to confess to them. He told them everything Balthazar. How long he had been working with Crowley and why."

Balthazar tilted his head to the side. "Well, what reason did he give Miss Natalie and the Winchesters for working with Crowley?"

"Castiel is trying to open Purgatory."

"Purgatory?" The word bounced around Balthazar's mouth, the disbelief dripping from his tone.

"Castiel is going to harvest the souls from Purgatory, use them against Raphael. I can see why Castiel would go for that choice though. The amount of power those souls will give him, it's immense. Balthazar this plan could go horribly wrong and if it does, everyone will suffer the consequences. All of that power, it's like a nuclear reactor, it can equate to Chernobyl...maybe even worse."

Balthazar nodded his agreement, knowing where Caden was leading with the conversation. Castiel was smart, of course, but this has got to be one of the stupidest moves he has pulled. Purgatory is a vast cavern of disgusting souls that are there for a reason and he wants to open the gate? Not only that, but the chances of this plan succeeding without any kind of irreversible repercussions were slim to none. Something was bound to go wrong if Castiel succeeded in his plan.

"Seems like Cas got off at the wrong stop, didn't he? I mean, that's only if he really is working with Crowley.."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Balthazar simply shrugged. "I'm not saying I believe you, but that's not saying that I don't either."

"Okay, well, how about you have a little chat with Castiel. Just ask him a few questions. See what he says."

Balthazar only raised his brows at this. "And what about you?"

"Right now, _I _can't do anything. I need to be looking for two people. Crowley took them has leverage to make sure that the Winchesters don't try and look for him anymore."

"Always at their feet, helping them with whatever they need. That's very kind of you Caden."

"These two people are innocent Balthazar. They have _nothing _to do with any of this. That's why I'm helping them. And you should too."

Balthazar seemed a little taken back at Caden's words, but gave the angel a quick smirk. "Why on earth would I want to help the Winchesters?"

"Because I know you Balthazar. You act like you don't care, but I know there is a part of you that doesn't want to see all of this get wasted. And the idea of two innocent people being dragged into all of this really gets under your skin."

"Oh don't try and start guilt tripping me into this."

"I'm not." Caden kept his gaze focused on Balthazar. "I don't have to guilt trip you, because that's how you are. So if you'll excuse me, I need to find Lisa and Ben. If you change your mind, come and find me."

* * *

><p>Natalie walked down the stairs, her hair running through her still damp hair and walked into the kitchen. Heading over to the fridge, Natalie paused when she heard her phone going off and she quickly pulled it out of her pocket.<p>

"Yeah, what's up Bobby?"

_"Managed to track down some more info on Lovecraft. Turns out, the idjit tried to open up a door to Purgatory." _

Natalie let out a quick hum as she pulled out a beer from the fridge. "Lovecraft tried to get into Purgatory? Why?"

_"Not sure if it was to get into Purgatory, but he was definitely fishing around for a way to open the damn place."_

"Did he manage to succeed at that?" She asked, as she leaned against the counter.

_"Nothing happened. So, I'm guessing he didn't get to. But, I dug through everything that I could find and every guest that he invited, they're either died or disappeared." _

Natalie choked on the drink she took from her bottle and cleared her throat. "Oh. Wow. That doesn't sound good. Well, it sounds like something was hunting them down. So either Lovecraft did manage to open Purgatory, for a short while, allowing something to come through..."

_"I'm not sure what the case is here. But, I'm on my way to talk with one of the guests."_

"Wait a minute." Natalie's brow creased. "I thought you just said that all of the guests that were there...died?"

_"Well, turns out one of the maids that died had a nine year old son. He was there also." _

"Lucky kid. Well, not lucky that his mom died, but he lived...anyway, he must be pretty old then. Where exactly is he?"

_"Same place he's been in since that night...locked in a mental ward." _

"That's unfortunate. Well, then I guess just call back if you have anything else."

_"Will do. How's Dean doing?" _

Natalie paused, gnawing on her bottom lip. "As good as you'd expect him to be."

_"Okay. I'll call if I get anything else." _

"Okay." Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call. Then, she began to scroll through her contacts and selected a number before pressing the phone back up to her ear.

_"Hello?" _

"Hey, David. It's me Natalie."

_"Yeah, I know it's you Nad. Caller I.D." _

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Right, yeah, sorry. I'm listen...I have a favor I need to ask of you."

_"Another favor?" _David asked, though his tone was light.

"Yeah, this is actually very important. Listen, it's about Lisa and Ben, they're the people that Dean stayed this past year and Crowley took them. This is all a really long story, but the simplistic form, Crowley took them as leverage. To make sure that Dean and Sam don't find him. We have no idea where Crowley is, but I was wondering, if you and Jake could possibly head over to Lisa's house? See if there is anything you two can find there."

_"Sure. But, I thought that Crowley was dead?" _

"Yeah, um...like I said it's all a very...long and complicated story. I'll have to tell you some other time, but right now, we need to figure out where Lisa and Ben are."

_"Sure thing. Uh, Jake and I will head out right now." _

"Okay. I'll send you Lisa's address. Again, thank you for doing this David. I know it must get pretty tiring of me asking for all of these favors."

_"You know I would never turn you away Nad. It's the least we can do. I'll call if Jake and I find anything at the home." _

"Okay. Thank you."

* * *

><p>Caden walked down a dark alleyway, his feet walking through puddles of water, splashing the concrete surrounding it. As he turned out around the corner, he came upon a huge building, possibly the remnants of an old factory. He steadily walked towards two huge metal doors that were locked, with chains wrapped around the door handles. Stopping before them, Caden looked up, the scale of the building filling his sight.<p>

_Lisa and Ben were in here._

Caden knew exactly which part of the building they were in, towards the far left side, in some room. But, when he actually tried to "get in", he couldn't. Every single try he would only find that he was still outside.

_Angel proofing. _

He couldn't get in, but he knew this was the location that Lisa and Ben were in. If anything, the only thing he could do was bring Dean here, he won't be able to do much else, but at least he found them. Just as Caden was about to return to Bobby's, he could hear a summoning from...Balthazar. With a deep sigh, Caden disappeared from outside of the building and found himself standing in the same wooded area he was in earlier, talking with Balthazar.

Turning around, he spotted Balthazar looking at him and Caden couldn't help, but show his annoyance. "Balthazar why did you summon me? I told you to come and find..."

Caden paused once he saw Castiel was standing behind Balthazar and his eyes moved to him.

"Caden. I feel like you and I should ask Castiel a couple of questions." Balthazar said, standing next to the younger angel and focusing his gaze on Castiel.

"What is it that you two want to ask me?" Castiel seemed distant and preoccupied with something else that was bottling in his mind. But, Caden felt that this was his only chance to actually hear it from Castiel, the truth.

"Is it true that you are working with Crowley?" Caden asked and Castiel's attention was now directed solely on them. But, the silence Balthazar and Caden got from him seemed to answer their question.

"You are..." Caden quietly confirmed.

"You both don't understand." Castiel finally spoke. "All that I am doing...it's a means to an end. You both should know that."

"The only means to an end we see is you wanting to harvest all the souls from Purgatory..."

"To win the war against Raphael." Castiel interrupted Caden. "It's the only way that we can defeat him."

"So you are going to purposefully make yourself a nuclear reactor, with all of those souls in you. Seems a little...spotty to me Cas." Balthazar said.

"Anything can go wrong with this plan Castiel." Caden said. "One slip up, this entire planet could suffer from it. Is that what you really want?"

"Of course not. I don't have any other choice."

Caden shook his head. "You should have told us sooner, about your little partnership with Crowley. Maybe, we could have figured something else out."

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell either of you about working with Crowley. But, trust me, there is no other way to win this."

Caden remained silent, his eyes studying Castiel's features, he could see confliction. It didn't take a true genius to conclude that Castiel knew what he was doing wasn't right. But, Caden could see that he was tired. Exhausted from the strain that his conscious was putting on him. He was going against what he knew was right, in favor of stopping this civil war.

"Did you know that Crowley would take Lisa and Ben?" Caden tested, hoping that he was wrong about this suspicion.

Castiel looked up, his brows knitting together in his disbelief. "Of course I didn't. I even went to Crowley. Told him to release both of them."

Caden raised his brows and hummed. "Big load of good that did."

"I know this can't be easy for either of you to accept. But, I need to know, if you both are on my side?"

"Oh, well, you know me Cas." Balthazar began. "I've been in this for to long to just back out now. So, consider this me standing by your side."

Castiel nodded and then looked over to the youngest angel. "Caden?"

Every instinct, internal and logical, were telling Caden to refuse to follow Castiel from now on. To simply just walk away from it, allow himself to dig a deeper hole, but Caden knew that, no matter how much he might want to, to fully turn his back on Castiel would not be the best decision. If anything, Caden could be by Castiel's side, to maybe try and steer his decisions in a different direction. It was a long shot, but, Caden was willing to do it.

"I'm with you Castiel."

* * *

><p>"So, you guys didn't find anything that could help us find Crowley."<p>

_"No, Sorry Nad. They didn't leave anything behind, other than a little bit of sulfur. The place is clean." _

Natalie rubbed her face and let out a groan. "Okay. Thanks anyway David. I appreciate it."

_"No problem. Call if you need anything else." _

Natalie hummed her response before pulling the phone away and ended the call, then placed the device down on the table. Her palms pressed up against her face, resting her elbows on the table, Natalie remained still. Dean was still torturing every demon he can get his hands on, no information from them. But, Dean was torturing them to release his anger just as much as he was trying to get info on Crowley. And Caden had not come back yet and with that there was no information for them, which really seemed to anger Dean.

He had been at this whole torturing every demon he can for hours. No rest and running on coffee and alcohol was Dean's way of trudging on. Honestly, Natalie was worried for him. How much longer could he possibly go on like that? Probably not that longer. Dean's drive to find Ben and Lisa was rising and the intensity of his violence was reaching its limits. Natalie chose to stay away from the garage, where it was all taking place. Being around Dean when he was like that honestly scared.

Natalie looked up when she heard footsteps entering the house and she saw Sam and Dean walk into the kitchen. Dean looked exactly how he did hours ago. Jaw set, eyes darken with exhaustion and fierce determination and then there was Sam, with nothing but concern for his brother.

Natalie looked at Sam as Dean leaned against the counter, both of them sending looks to each other. Then, Natalie decided to break the silence. "Did you manage to get anything out of them?"

"No. None of them have cracked yet, but I'm not done. Still a lot more demons that I can talk with." Dean finally looked up and locked eyes with Natalie. "Has Caden come back yet?"

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. "David called, said that there was nothing back at Lisa's house that could help find them either. Sorry."

Dean didn't respond, no facial reaction was present that Natalie could detect. She has never seen him with this cold expression, almost as if he had no emotion whatsoever. A quick shiver slid down her spine as she let out a breath.

The sound of wings entered the room and the three hunters turned towards the living room where Caden was now standing. "Good. The three of you are here."

"Did you find them?" Dean wasted no time in asking.

"Yes, I did. It wasn't easy, but, Crowley has them in some abandoned factory. The thing is, I can't get you inside, he has angel proofed the entire building."

"That's fine." Dean answered. "As long as you can get us as close to the place as you can, we'll take it from there."

….

Natalie looked around her, seeing damaged and abandoned buildings all over and there was a slight sour scent in the air, which she made a quick face at. Then in front of them, a huge three story building, two huge bulky metal doors and a few ports where shipping trucks would come in and drop off materials.

"Okay, we split up." Dean said, pulling out Ruby's knife. "I'll take the left, Nad you cut down through the middle of the building and Sam will round back by the right side."

Natalie nodded as she checked over her rifle before cocking it. The three hunters went their chosen ways. Natalie walked straight as Sam and Dean split away from her. Reaching a small metal door, Natalie grabbed onto the handle and pulled, locked. Pulling out her pistol from her beltline, Natalie shot off two quick rounds at the lock and it came undone. Placing her pistol back, Natalie slowly opened the door, pausing several times when the metal hinges would creak.

Once the door was fully open, she was met with nothing, but darkness. Moving to her pocket, she slid out her flashlight, switched it on, and aimed it up along with her shotgun. Making sure to keep her back close to the wall, Natalie edged her way down the dark hallway. Reaching about halfway, there was an opening on the left side where a faint light was pouring out and she slowly turned into the room, making a quick check and found nothing. Turning out of the room, Natalie continued on, every sound seemed to be amplified from how fairly empty this place was. From what she's seen so far in just this hallway, there was really nothing, other than a few discarded cabinets and a few other things she couldn't identify.

After reaching the end, which Natalie thought would never come, she came to a huge opening that led to another wider and shorter corridor. Her hand gripping tighter onto her gun, she picked up her pace as she walked down the hallway, which was better lit then the previous one. Halfway down, a hand grabbed Natalie from the shoulder, yanked her sideways and pinned her up against the wall.

Black eyes were all she saw in that split of a second before she kicked the demon in the stomach and shot off two rounds into the demon's torso, his body jerked with the bullet's impact.

"Salt rounds?" The demon mocked and Natalie only sported a quick smirk as she gave a head tilt.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo draco maledicte..."

The demon, who had began to groan from the exorcism, charged after Natalie and was able to pin her back up against the wall, his hands securing around her neck. Natalie paused, trying to gain back enough air for her to continue on.

"Ecclesiam Tuam...Securi tibi facias libertate servire te rogamus, audi nos."

The demon's mouth opened as black smoke shot out, an ungodly scream echoed through the hallway as the hands around her neck finally loosened and she braced her back against the wall as the body finally slumped to the ground. Natalie pressed her hand up to her neck, her body shaking with her coughing, an attempt to catch her breath.

_"Mom!" _

_"Lisa!"_

Natalie's attention was turned to her left where she had heard Dean's voice and another one, assuming it was Ben's, calling out. Natalie closed her eyes, taking in a few more deep breaths before pushing herself away from the wall and ran down the rest of the corridor.

Finding a doorway, Natalie stumbled towards it, her throat still hoarse, but she still managed to call out. "Dean!"

"Nad! In here!"

Natalie let out a few more coughs as she walked into the room, seeing Dean and Ben kneeling down next to Lisa. "What happened?"

"No time. We gotta get her out of here." Dean moved around to Lisa's side and gently picked her up, only then did Natalie see the huge blood stain on her shirt. "Okay, Nad you need to cover for us, alright?"

Natalie nodded and went to pick up the knife she had spotted on the ground just a few feet from her. Looking up, she saw Dean adjusting Lisa in his hold and his attention was on Ben.

"Ben, you stay close with Nad, alright?"

Natalie looked over at the young boy, who was still staring at his mom with wide panicked eyes and she felt that pang of sympathy hit her. "Okay, come on, let's go." Natalie motioned for Dean to leave the room first, then, she gently pulled Ben in front of her and followed in suit. Dean turned right, taking the opposite way that Natalie had come from. With her gun aimed up, they finally reached an area that had a staircase, leading to the next level and a demon was charging at them.

"Ben." Natalie grabbed Ben, pulled him behind her as she pulled out the knife and in a quick throw, embedded the weapon into the demon's chest, sending the body to fall to the ground. Natalie quickly walked over, yanked the knife out and nodded for Dean to continue on.

Pulling the gun back up into an aim, she motioned for Ben to go in front of her before continuing on with the walk. Only about a few minutes, Dean was leading them towards one of the exits and Natalie gently nudged Ben to move faster, so that he could get out of this building quicker. Once outside, Dean turned left and Sam's calls could be heard coming from somewhere in the building.

Dean paused and looked around, hearing his brother calling his name. "Sam?"

_"I'm in here!" _

Natalie saw Dean motion her over to one of the doors and she ran over, took out her pistol and shot at the lock and threw open the door, to which Sam walked out and he seemed a little dazed.

"Are you alright?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, demon just knocked me out."

"Sam, we gotta get to a hospital."

Sam nodded, seeing the condition that Lisa was in and then began to look around, when his mind finally clicked. "Okay, just wait here, I'll be right back."

* * *

><p>Natalie folded her arms over her chest as she leaned against the Impala and a pained hiss from Sam earned her attention as she looked over at him, seeing that he was rubbing at his head. "Sam, I think you should just get checked out. Just as a precaution."<p>

"No." Sam hissed out. "It's fine, it's just a little bump on the head."

Natalie scoffed out a laugh as she walked over to stand in front of him. "Sometimes a little bump can become a serious problem down the road."

"I'm fine." Sam said, again, gently turning down any kind of argument she was about to put up with him about getting checked out. "Are you okay?"

Natalie raised her brows. "I don't think I'm the one who needs to be asked that. Lisa still hasn't woken up. Can't imagine what Dean must be going through."

"Yeah, I can't either."

Natalie sighed. "Well, at least Caden was able to find them and we got them out. I don't even want to think about what would've happened to them if they had been there any longer. Pretty sure Crowley would've just done away with them."

"I don't think so. Crowley using them as leverage. As long as they were alive, he thought that we wouldn't try and find him. The minute he kills them...his most valuable bargaining chips will be gone."

"Yeah." Natalie nodded and became a little fixed on the small bruise that was forming on the right side of Sam's temple. She reached up and gently brushed her fingers over the area. "That's going to turn into a really nasty bruise soon."

"Yeah, well, ice and pain killers will do wonders."

Natalie smiled, finally retracting her hand away, allowing her arm to hang down by her side. Sam looked past her and gave a quick gesture, which caused Natalie to turn and saw Dean was making his way towards him.

"How's Lisa?" She asked once Dean was standing in front of them.

"Not good. But, Cas came by and he's gonna take care of her."

"That's good." Natalie commented, actually relieved that Lisa was going to be fine. But, the look on Dean's face told Natalie that there was more to his statement of Castiel being able to help her. Dean almost looked like he was on the verge of tears, which wasn't a good sign for Natalie and Sam was quick to notice it to.

"Dean. What's going on?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed, the agonizing pain that seeped from it concerned Natalie deeply. "I, um. I asked Cas if he could...wipe their memories. Of me. That way, they won't remember me and they won't be in danger anymore."

"Dean, no, you can't do that." Natalie didn't think much on her words, it was more of just an instant reaction she had. But, really, he can't do that.

"I had to Nad. Lisa almost died and so did Ben...because of me. The only way they can be safe, is if they don't remember me. And I'd rather much have that then to have them killed."

Natalie slowly shook her head. "Dean..."

"We can head out, but, I need to do something real quick before we do, so, I'll be back." Dean turned around and walked back across the street towards the hospital.

Natalie stood there, frozen, as she watched Dean walking back into the hospital. She was unsettled at the thought of Lisa and Ben's memories being wiped. Dean had spent a whole year with them, memories that Natalie was sure brought some kind of happiness to not only Dean but to Lisa and Ben as well. Now, that was all gone for those two at least. Without thinking, Natalie walked across the street, despite hearing Sam calling her name, she continued on. This was the last time Dean was most likely going to see Lisa and Ben and Natalie wasn't going to let him walk away alone from this.

….

Natalie turned the corner and began to slow her pacing down when she saw that Dean was standing in the doorway to a hospital. She finally stopped just a couple of feet away from the receptionist's desk and leaned against the wall. She couldn't even fathom what must be going through his head right now. Looking into the eyes to two people you love and to have them not recognize you and talk to you like you were some kind of stranger. That was horrifying. Natalie tried to picture what that would be like if she had to do that with Clara and Marina. The pain of seeing this confusion in their eyes as to who she was. That would destroy her and no doubt, it would do the same for Dean.

Natalie was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw Dean turn out of the room and slowly began to walk back down the corridor towards her, though he didn't seem to notice that she was standing there, waiting for him. As he got closer to where she was standing, Natalie pushed herself away from the wall and stood in Dean's path.

Just a couple of feet away from her, Dean finally looked up, his gaze having been down the whole time and Natalie could see the painful loss that was streaming from his eyes and she sucked in a short quiet breath when their eyes met. Dean finally stopped in front of her, their eyes still glue on each other. She could see so vividly, he was trying to hold it all back. That was the Dean she was so used to. Someone who had complete control, most of the time, over how their emotions would come out. Dean wasn't exactly someone who would show this level of defeat to anyone. He was truly shatter, broken into a million pieces.

And Dean could see that this is what Natalie was thinking. Sympathy was all he could see in her eyes and he could just read her "I'm sorry" so easily in her expression. And Dean, who was always so good at hiding it and keeping it back, something about the fact that Natalie was standing here in front of him, offering her support, it broke something in him. Dean's lip gave a few trembles and he finally broke his gaze from her.

Natalie let out a pained sigh at seeing Dean finally break and she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and he answered by wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close and burying his face into her shoulder. Natalie closed her eyes, feeling Dean's body give a few shakes, she tightened her hold on him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to him, feeling him give her a quick squeeze as an acceptance of her apology.

Natalie knew that she didn't have to physically say the words, it was written all over her face, but sometimes, people need to actually hear the words in their entirety. To hear the genuine emotion behind the voice to assure them that they weren't alone, that's what Dean needed right now and Natalie was more than willing to give that to him.

They both stayed like that, in a tight embrace near the middle of the hospital corridor, no one who was passing by wanted to interrupt the moment, despite that Natalie and Dean were most likely blocking people's way. Dean was the one who broke away first, but it was a slow process. He moved his face away from Natalie's shoulder, then rested his chin on it, taking in a few deep breaths and her back rubs soothed away the tension that had unknowingly built up. Then, his grip around her loosened and he slowly pulled away from her.

Natalie looked up at him, his eyes just slightly red, though there were no tear stains evident on his cheeks. Either he managed to hold them back or they were currently stained on her jacket. Natalie thought the latter was the answer, but it didn't matter to her. Her hands moved to his arms as she gave them a few gentle rubs, which were met with Dean nodding his head, telling her that he was as "fine" as he could be.

"Come on." Dean finally said, his voice was raw and hoarse. "Let's go."

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><p><strong>So, how did you all like it?! Only ONE MORE CHAPTER until the end of this story. Hope you all are excited! <strong>


	38. Chapter 38

_A/N: Here we are everyone! The very last chapter for Distant Serenity! Once again, just wanted to thank all who have been with me on this journey from the beginning and to all of you who have just jumped on the bandwagon, WELCOME AND THANK YOU FOR READING! I hope you all are just as excited as I am about the next story and I hope I am able to deliver for you all!_

_Without further ado! Lets get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

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><p>The door to Bobby's home slammed open, crashing against the side wall, as Natalie stepped in, wide panicked, glazed eyes swept over the main hall in front of her, chest heaving with labored breaths and hair was slightly disheveled. The expression on her face...fear and if someone were to look closely, searing rage underlined her panic. Rage that she couldn't afford to truly deal with at the moment, but she could feel it simmering inside her. She was waiting for the moment where she would finally go off. Although, it was noted between Bobby and Dean that she was a lot more calm then she was about an hour ago. Granted, she was still panicking, but, her level of anger and panic had diminished to where she could function more properly.<p>

Natalie was jostled when she heard Bobby and Dean struggling as they began to walk up onto the porch. "Dean. Where do you want him?" She called out, her voice giving away that she could break any moment.

"Panic room, Nad." Dean grunted as he and Bobby carried Sam onto the porch and into the house.

Natalie took off towards the basement door, threw it open and dashed down the steps, slightly surprised that she didn't trip over her feet with how quick she was going. Reaching the bottom, Natalie ran over to the panic room door, unlocked it and pulled the heavy chunk of metal open. Just in time, she turned to look at the steps, seeing Bobby and Dean carrying down Sam's body.

Dean and Bobby heaved Sam up in their holds, pausing in their walking to do so properly. Dean gave Bobby a quick nod as they quickly walked into the panic room and set Sam's unconscious form down onto the cot. Natalie wasted no time, she dashed into the room and was at Sam's side, moving his legs so they were lying straight on the mattress.

Natalie moved up to Sam's face, her hand bracing against his cheek and the other brushed across his forehead, her eyes assessing over his features. "Sam?" Natalie made gentle presses against the side of Sam's face, making sure to continuously brush his hair back. "Sam. Sam?"

Bobby and Dean had remained quiet during Natalie's little examination, although, they both were trying to fully absorb the events that happened only a few hours ago. But, as they continued to watch Natalie, in her vain attempt to get Sam to respond, Bobby knew that there was nothing she could do.

"Nad." Bobby reached over and gently took hold of her arm, prompting her to immediately look up at him. "There's nothing we can do."

Natalie moved her gaze back down at Sam and slowly leaned away from him. The finality of the situation finally sunk in and the pent up anger she had been holding back on the ride back here, it was being let out and Natalie had to bite down on her bottom lip to avoid from lashing out.

"I swear the next time I see Cas..." Natalie stopped herself, not finishing her sentence and, instead, slowly shook her head.

"You and I feel the same way Nad, but, that's not the main priority we have right now."

Natalie casted her gaze over at Dean, who was still keeping his focus on his unconscious brother. "He broke down his wall like it was nothing Dean. He didn't even hesitate. And here I thought Cas was supposed to be helping us."

"Nad." Dean looked over at her. "Just try not to worry about Cas right now. We need to focus on Sam."

"Yeah, sorry, no. I'm not just gonna wait around hoping for some miracle to happen. Whatever is going on in Sam's head, it needs to be dealt with...now." Natalie looked at Bobby and Dean, then down at Sam. "I'll be right back."

* * *

><p><em>Natalie stepped out of the car, curious eyes looked around her as she closed the car door. Looking over at Bobby, the three other hunters followed him down an alleyway and Natalie stuffed her hands into her pockets. Bobby had received a call from Dr. Visyak or Eleanor, but Bobby calls her El, asking for him to meet her...in an alleyway.<em>

_That was the first thing that seemed to set Natalie off. Why an alleyway? Not a restaurant or perhaps she had a place for them to meet. Either way, Natalie felt it was a little to weird for Eleanor to ask to meet up with someone in a place like this. _

_"Do either of you think it's a little weird that she would ask to see us here? I mean, there are probably a few other good choices she could've chosen from." Natalie finally spoke up. _

_Dean shrugged, not thinking much of it. "Not like we haven't been down these places before." _

_Natalie pulled her arms closer to her body. "I don't know. Something doesn't seem right." _

_"You always seem to think that Nad." Dean commented offhandedly. "Where is she anyway?" _

_Bobby looked at Dean and shrugged. "She said to meet her here. I'll try calling her again."_

_Pulling out his phone, Bobby quickly dialed out her number and place it up to his ear. The four of them continued to walk down the alleyway, but all of them stopped when they heard a phone going off. They were standing in the middle of the alley that was now splitting off into two different parts. When the ringing continued, it brought the hunter's attention to the alleyway to the right of them. Bobby pulled the phone away, keeping the call going, as the four of them began to make their way towards the direction where the ringtone was coming from. _

_As they rounded a dumpster, they came upon Eleanor, who was leaning up against a thing of wooden crates that were resting against the wall of a building. Bobby, quickly putting away his phone, knelt down in front of her, hand resting on her shoulder._

_"El?" _

_Natalie, Dean and Sam all stood back, behind Bobby, their eyes glued on her, all three of them gawking at what they were looking at. Natalie knew something didn't feel right._

_Eleanor, tiredly, opened her eyes and looked over at Bobby, her hand holding her jacket close to her body. "Hi. You were right. I need your help after all." _

_"What happened?"_

_Eleanor pulled her coat away, revealing a huge blood stain on her shirt. "They took me. For a while, but, then I was able to get away." _

_"Oh, Ellie." Bobby brushed away a strand of her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "What have they done to you?_

_"Everything." Eleanor pulled her coat back towards her body and huffed out a laugh. "The demon was pretty easy for me to handle...I had that under control. It was only when the angel stepped in..."_

_Natalie immediately tensed, her eyes moving over to Sam and Dean, seeing the equal realization cross over their faces._

_"I told them Bobby. I told them everything. They have enough to crack Purgatory wide open." _

_"Tell me, El. I need to know." _

_"They need virgin blood. That's practically a milk-run for them. And they need the blood of a Purgatory native and well, guess you can say they have plenty of that."_

_"Have they open it yet?" Dean asked, but it garnered Natalie's attention when his tone sounded a little to harsh._

_Eleanor shook her head, weakly. "Tomorrow. There's an eclipse." Her gaze went over to Bobby, her guilt pouring from them. "I'm sorry Bobby. I'm so sorry." _

_Bobby shook his head, placing his hand against her cheek. "No. It's okay, you don't need to apologize. Tell us where they are." _

_Eleanor looked like she was trying to tell Bobby, strumming up whatever strength she had left in her to do so. Instead, her eyes slowly closed and her head fell to the side. Natalie sucked in a silent breath, eventually closing her eyes and looking away from the scene._

_"El?" Bobby's voice was filled with utter hopelessness as his eyes searched over her features._

_"I'm sorry this had to happen." _

_The four hunters turned around, the recognition in the voice was to easily detected and their eyes were staring directly at Castiel, who seemed remorseful for what happened to Eleanor. _

_"Crowley got carried away." Castiel finished._

_"Yeah, right. I bet it was all Crowley you son of a bitch."_

_Bobby tried to make an advancement towards Castiel, when Natalie quickly stepped in front of Bobby, her hands grabbing onto his arms, gently pushing him back. "Bobby. Don't." Natalie only let go of her hold when he finally backed off. _

_"You don't even see it, do you?" Dean turned to Castiel, once he knew that Bobby had calmed down. "How totally off the rails you are right now!" _

_"Enough!" Castiel tiredly interrupted Dean. "I don't care what you think anymore. I've tried to make you understand...tried to make all of you to understand. Neither of you will listen." _

_"It's kind of hard to Cas." Natalie pushed in her input. "Dean is right. You are completely out of your head with this plan." _

_"Let me make this simple then." Castiel began. "Please, just go home. All of you. Let me stop Raphael. I won't ask again." _

_"Well, then good. Because you already know what our answers are going to be." Dean answered. _

_Castiel sighed and lowered his gaze. "I wish it hadn't come to this. But, rest assured, when this is all over. I will save Sam, but only if you all stand down." _

_Natalie, on instinct, moved closer to Sam, her hand reached out and gripped onto his arm. "What the hell are you talking about? Save him from what?"_

_Her question was only met with Castiel disappearing from their sight. Natalie and the others looked around them, her grip on Sam's arm never loosened and when she felt him turn she followed in suit and saw, just in time, Castiel raising his hand to Sam's head. Natalie felt and saw Sam, instantly, collapse and she followed him down, her eyes widening as his body made impact with the ground._

_Natalie knelt down next to Sam, her hand rested underneath his head, to give some kind of support, while she used the other to tap the side of his face. "Sam!"_

_Dean had copied Natalie's reaction, as he quickly knelt down next to Sam, assessing his brother's now limp and unconscious form. "Sammy?" _

_"He did something to his wall." Natalie quietly informed, her teeth digging into her lip. "The son of a bitch tore down his wall." _

_"Okay." Dean went to work with trying to start getting Sam off from the ground and he looked up at Bobby. "Bobby come on. We need to get him to the car." _

_Bobby, after gently getting Natalie to step away from Sam, began to work with Dean and they both eventually got Sam off the ground and secured in their grips. After adjusting their holds, they began to, quickly, walk out of the alleyway back towards the car._

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><p>Natalie paced back and forth in the living room, her teeth were gnawing on her finger as she began to question where Caden was. She had prayed to him...several times actually. And he hasn't shown up yet. The last time she had seen him was when he took them to the location Crowley was holding Lisa and Ben. After that, he was M.I.A. Most likely, he was still standing by Castiel's side, even though Natalie knew Caden didn't like what he was doing.<p>

Natalie let out a low growl as she began to think about Castiel and her mind was cluttering with this intense anger she had towards him. She stopped her pacing, hands pressed against her face and she began the process of taking deep breaths. With her anger towards Castiel and now her annoyance with Caden, it was all emasculating into this huge bubble that was getting ready to burst.

"Natalie?"

Natalie looked up quickly and saw Caden standing under the threshold in the kitchen, his curious eyes looking at her. Huffing out a breath, her arms hung limply by her side. "You took longer than usual."

"I am sorry. Castiel has been keeping a tighter hold on things. He knows that some of his followers are beginning to question his motives."

"And you happen to be one of them." Natalie remarked.

"I told him that I was still with him..."

Natalie raised her brows at the skepticism in his voice and she tilted her head. "I know that's not how you really feel about it."

"No. I don't want Castiel to continue on with this."

"Then why are you still with him?"

"I decided it would be best if I remained with him, so that I could try and keep my eye on him. Maybe I could get him to stop..."

Natalie scoffed loudly. "Well, it's not doing any good, is it?" She ran a hand through her hair and Caden narrowed his eyes when he began to see her eyes brimming with tears.

"What's wrong, Natalie?"

Natalie's eyes closed, holding back what tears were about to fall and she took in a deep breath before looking up at the angel. "Cas has officially crossed the line. He...he broke down Sam's wall."

"Sam's wall?"

Natalie huffed out, realizing that Caden never knew the story. "Yeah, um, I'm assuming that Castiel told you that Sam was soulless?"

Caden merely nodded.

"I was able to strike a deal with Death, to get Sam's soul out of Lucifer's cage. And he put up this wall in Sam's mind, so that he wouldn't remember anything from Hell. And Cas...he tore it down." Natalie pointed towards the basement door. "Now, Sam is lying unconscious downstairs with all of his memories spilling out and...you need to do something!" Natalie's tone had turned into desperate pleas.

Caden slowly shook his head, actual sympathy pouring from his eyes. "Natalie. I can't."

Natalie remained silent, her eyes fixed in a stare, a new round of tears were already about to spill. "No. No, don't tell me that. Caden, please, you have to help Sam...you have to do something for him."

"Natalie. From what you are telling me, Castiel tore down Sam's wall, then there will be nothing for me to fix. I can't do anything for him."

Natalie shook her head, refusing to accept Caden's reasoning. "No. This can't be happening."

"I'm sorry."

"No. I don't want to hear your apology!" Natalie quickly snapped. "You know I thought angels were supposed to help people, not endangering their lives to pursue some crazy plan!" Her voice boomed around the room.

Caden remained quiet, only long enough for her to settle herself. "Castiel truly believes that this is going to help everyone in the end."

Natalie belted out a quick, singular laugh. "Don't tell me that you're starting to defend him."

"I'm not defending him Natalie. I'm not saying what he's doing is right, because it's not, but, I'm telling you that's what he believes."

Natalie laughed, showing her doubt. "You know. I had to be Death for a whole day, as part of my deal with him. That was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. That wall was supposed to keep him safe, Castiel knew that. And look what he did...he broke it down, putting Sam's life in danger and he didn't even hesitate!"

Caden simmered in his own thoughts, once again, allowing Natalie time to actually recover from her outbursts. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

"I want you to tell me where Cas is."

Caden gave Natalie a cautious look. "Natalie. I don't think that is a good idea."

"Oh, now you're telling me what's the right thing for me to do."

"Natalie, what Castiel did, obviously shows how desperate he is. And if this is you trying to go after him for what he did to Sam, then no. If he was willing to do that to Sam, I don't want to think what else he might do."

Natalie cinched her lips into a mocking smile. "That's so sweet Caden. You sound so caring. But, you know what, I could care less about what Cas might do to me, the only thing I'm concerned about is Sam."

"I realize that. But, you really think he would want you going after Castiel like this?"

Natalie went silent, keeping an even gaze on Caden until she finally sighed, signaling her relent. "Listen, we really need to know where Cas is." Natalie raised her hand up at Caden, when she saw that he was about to argue with her. "He's trying to open Purgatory. We can't let him do that. So, I need you to tell me where he is, that way...Dean, Bobby and I can try and stop him."

"I can't do that."

"Why? Because you'll be breaking your loyalty to him?"

"Any loyalty that I had for Castiel is nearly gone. But, I can't take the chance of him doing anything else to you or to Dean. I'll do it. I'll try and talk him out of it."

"You really think that he's going to listen to you? Like you said, he's desperate."

"Well, then, hopefully, the Castiel I know, is still in there somewhere."

Natalie's lips twitched into a faint smile. "You really are the younger brother aren't you? Always having some kind of faith in your older siblings. It's understandable."

Natalie didn't receive any kind of verbal answer from him. The only thing she got was a nod from the angel before he disappeared. Natalie stood in the room, simmering in the silence that Caden had left her in. Her eyes still fixed on the spot where he was standing just a few seconds ago, the barriers she had put up to hold back what she was truly feeling were finally falling apart. Her face scrunched up, eyes shut and hands flew up to her face as she sat down in the chair behind her.

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><p>Caden stepped into the lab and stopped halfway when he saw that Castiel was standing with his back to him, most likely he didn't know that Caden was going to be here. But, Caden took a quick sweep of the room to make sure that Crowley wasn't here as well, which he wasn't. Caden then stepped fully into the room and walked quietly towards Castiel.<p>

"I didn't summon for you." Castiel suddenly spoke, but it didn't stop Caden from his advancement. "So, I suppose you are here for something else." Castiel turned fully around to him.

Caden finally stopped when he was standing just a few feet away from him. "Castiel. I know what you did to Sam."

Castiel turned away and sat down on one of the lab table, not fully able to believe that he allowed himself to stoop that low. He tore down Sam's wall, effectively putting his life in danger, not knowing if he will even be able to help Sam once this was all over.

"I'm assuming that you went to them or you were prayed to."

"Natalie prayed for me." Caden answered. "She's terrified Castiel. I've never seen that much desperation and fear in her before and you are the reason for it."

"I told them to stand down, to allow me the advantage of stopping Raphael, they were continuously getting in the way. They weren't listening to me."

Caden silently nodded. "Just like you. Everyone telling you to not do this...to not go forward with opening Purgatory. And yet, you are so determined on doing so."

"I've already explained to you Caden. With those souls, I'll be able to sustain enough power to win this."

"Right. To win this war. No I understood you the first time Castiel. I just thought that you would have been a little more merciful about it."

"Time is running out Caden. There really isn't any time for genuine mercy. I'm done with trying to get them to understand, right now I just need to focus on ending this. It's better for everyone."

"By endangering the lives of not only your friends, but everyone else. That's better? The Winchesters and Natalie, they all trusted you Castiel. Put their faith into you, taught you how to make a choice, create your own stance. And you repay them...by tearing down the only thing that was keeping Sam safe. Driving Dean and Natalie onto this panic, desperate road, not knowing whether he's going to make it."

"Enough, Caden." Castiel spoke, his voice harsh. "I don't like what I did to Sam. But, if they stand down, I will help Sam, once this is all over."

"And how sure are you, that you will be able to help him? That wall, was put there for a reason Castiel and you cracked it. Now, everything is falling apart in his head. How can you repair that? Even I knew, that I wouldn't be able to repair that wall."

"I will find a way to help him, I always do. But, if they try to stop this, I won't be able to. I gave them my final warning, it's up to them whether they want to break it or not." Castiel said.

"Castiel, this is exactly why I am going to ask you this. Please, you need to stop this. Don't open the door to Purgatory. You know what's in there...the kind of vile creatures that inhabit that land. Eve was able to slip through just one of the cracks...you're talking about opening the whole thing."

"I know what I'm doing Caden. And I know what I need to do in order to harvest the souls." Castiel said.

"You're just basing this on assumptions. Anything can go wrong. Anything can slip by. And if that happens, this entire world will in jeopardy. Castiel, making yourself a nuclear reactor, is not exactly a reassuring thought."

"It will work. I promise, I'll stop Raphael and then, everything can start to make its way back to normal." Castiel said.

"You may believe that...but I don't."

Castiel turned his head, his brows creasing with confusion.

"I joined you thinking that you would be the one to stop it. I was convinced by your talk about doing the right thing on your own terms. Helping those who need it, being merciful. That's who you were Castiel, not this. You are so clouded by your obsession with stopping Raphael, you're not seeing the damage that you are inflicting on people you care about!"

"I know what my actions have caused...and what they will bring about. I know exactly what I'm doing Caden."

Caden's eyes filled with grim despair and the tension in his shoulders released with a small huff. "Well, then...you truly are lost Castiel."

Caden's words filtered into Castiel's thoughts, his hand moving to rub at his forehead. He was tired. Tired from trying to explain himself to everyone, and he thought that Caden was on his side with this. He should've known better though. With Caden's new found loyalty to Natalie, Castiel was a fool for thinking that Caden would be entirely with him on this. "Are you with me or not Caden?"

Caden gawked at Castiel's question, by the way he asked, it seemed like Castiel had just dismissed all Caden had been saying. Him trying to get Castiel to stop this, to not open Purgatory. Caden truly believed that he would be able to get through to him, but he can see. Castiel was beyond reachable. He wasn't going to turn back, not now since he was so close to ending this. That seemed to be Castiel's only drive. Getting those souls, using them to end this war was the only thing that was keeping him on this path. Any kind of repercussions that might come after this was nowhere in his mind.

"No. I can't do this anymore Castiel. I thought…you were still reachable. That I would be able to get you to stop all of this. But, you won't do that. You're not listening to me. You are willing to risk everything, the lives of many people, your friends...I can't be by your side anymore. I have people that I need to protect and look after."

Castiel lowered his gaze, giving a brief, faint shake, wishing that Caden would see his side…his reasoning for turning to such a dire decision. "Your loyalty to Natalie, that's your issue...the reason why you can't understand why I'm doing this."

"I'm choosing to go against you, because I know what's right and what's wrong...and this isn't right Castiel."

"Then you're against me..." Castiel responded, making it sound like an assurance to himself that he was no longer on his side.

"It appears that way."

Castiel raised his gaze, his expression now stern and his jaw clenched. "Then know this, if you tell the Winchesters or Natalie where I am, if you betray me any more then you've already have…you will suffer from it."

Caden dropped the stoic persona and huffed out in his disbelief. Castiel was threatening him? "So this is what it has come to for you? Threatening your own brother."

"I will do what I must."

It was a challenge now, between two brothers. All the cards were on the table now. Caden could feel that whatever kind of loyalty he had towards Castiel, any kind of respect he had for the older angel, it was all gone now. Castiel was lost in his own self determination and no matter how hard people have tried, no one call pull him out of this, only himself. The older brother Caden looked up to and admired for so long, he was no longer there.

Caden took a few slow steps forward, till he was standing right in front of Castiel, faces just inches from each other and eyes set in a hard glare, he leaned just slightly towards the angel. "And so will I."

Castiel's eyes narrowed at the challenge he heard in Caden's voice. "You are really going against me aren't you?"

"It was from you that I learned how to think for myself. I learned from the best. And if you come after me...then come after me. Because I am willing to suffer at your hands, if it means that you can be stopped."

"Don't make me have to do this Caden." Castiel warned. "I've already been losing angels in all of this."

"This is all on you Castiel. If you can't see, what you've become, then go ahead and do whatever you want me with me when this is over." Caden slowly backed away from Castiel and disappeared without saying another word.

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><p>Natalie raised her head against from her hand, which she had been currently resting against and wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them closer to her body. Her head tilted to the side, her eyes still fixed on Sam, as she leant over and brushed Sam's hair back, away from his face.<p>

"How do you think he's going to be when...if, he wakes up?" Natalie allowed herself to finally ask the question.

Dean sighed heavily, running his hands down his face. "I don't know. I know I usually say that a lot but...I really don't know, Nad."

Natalie leaned back against her chair and blew out a sigh. "I never would've thought that Cas would actually go that far. Break down the only thing that was practically keeping Sam up on his feet."

"I don't exactly have a reason for it Nad. I guess...he's desperate. Plus he's so far into this...he's not gonna back out now."

Natalie hummed to herself as she looked up at Dean. "You know. I never thought that I would ever be angry at Cas. He's stubborn, yeah, but this...I'll even take it a step further and say that I hate him."

Dean sighed and lowered his gaze from Natalie. "I don't blame you if you do."

Natalie pressed her hands up to her face and groaned. "I prayed to Caden." She said into her hands before pulling them away. "Asked if he could help Sam, he said that he couldn't. Whatever Cas did to Sam's wall, it's not something he can just fix up. But, he did tell me that he was going to try and talk with Cas." Natalie scoffed at those words. "Like that's going to do any good. We tried talking to him and look what he did." She finished with a gesture to Sam.

"Let's just hope that we find out where he's at. Then, we'll just take it from there."

"You know this all makes me think about when I made that deal with Death and all that I went through to make sure that Sam got his soul back, along with that wall. I mean, I'm glad he got his soul back, but..."

"Nad." Dean interrupted. "If you think it wasn't worth it, it was. I mean, the wall wasn't perfect, but, it did its job, while it lasted at least."

"Yeah." Natalie practically whispered, it was so quiet that it was mistaken for a sigh by Dean, since he never said anything back.

Natalie moved her gaze back down at Sam, one hand resting on his stomach, while his other arm was on the bed, next to him. Natalie unhooked her legs and leaned over towards him, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. "Sam?"

Talking to Sam was probably pointless at this time. He was unconscious, there was no way that he was going to hear her or even wake up. Sam was forced to relive all of his hellish memories on his own, no way for Dean or Natalie to take in any of the psychological impact they would leave on him. Natalie felt helpless. Not being able to help him, only rendered to sitting next to his side hoping he would wake up. If only she could just get a hold of Death and force him to do something, but, even Natalie knew that Death agreeing to get Sam's soul, after she lost the bet, was a huge miracle in itself. Asking him for another favor, that had to do with Sam, would probably be out of the question.

"Sam? Please." Natalie went silent when she heard the break in her voice. Eyes casted downwards and her lips pursed together as her hand secured tightly around his limp one.

In her own declining, hope filled mind, she had expected to fell some kind of movement from him or to hear him say her name, anything that would tell her he was awake. Even Natalie knew that whatever crazy storm was brewing in Sam's head, it was going to leave him in some kind of mental state that Natalie couldn't even begin to comprehend. She wanted nothing more than for him to wake up…all he needed to do was come out of this. Whatever kind of repercussions that will come from Castiel breaking his wall, they all will face it head on…together.

But as she looked up, Natalie was only met with Sam's still form and she swallowed down what was her last, small sense of hope. "Sam, please…wake up."

"Well, I have to give you all credit, at least you got the angel-proofing right."

Natalie and Dean were pulled out of their view of Sam and they turned to see Balthazar peering into the panic room, a slight impressed look on his face. Then, his attention went to Sam, lying on the cot.

"How's the little Sleeping Beauty? Did you get to steal any kisses from him?"

Natalie sighed out her annoyance and shook her head. "Can you please stop with the mocking attitude?"

"Oh. Touchy, touchy."

"Where the hell have you been Balthazar?" Dean asked, once he had gotten up from his seat and walked over to him.

Balthazar gave Dean a look. "Honestly? I was having a lot of seconds thoughts. About whether I wanted to help you or not. I was thinking that maybe, it would be best if I just turned you all into little chunky pieces."

Natalie raised her brows and hummed. "That's a really nice visual."

"Well, what did you decide?" Dean asked.

Balthazar smirked and gave a dramatic shoulder shrug. "Well, guess I'm still on your side." He took put a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Dean, who quickly took it. "That's where Cas and Crowley are. That's where this whole thing is going to take place."

Dean took a moment to look over the address and then nodded his head. "Okay, well, give us a few minutes, we'll get ready and you can zap us over there."

"Oh, no, no, no. I'm not doing you any favors anymore. I am betraying a very powerful friend. We all are. And I've already stuck my neck out to far for you so, good luck."

"Yeah, well you might be the only one with Cas on this whole thing then." Natalie suddenly said.

Balthazar casted her a look. "What are you talking about?"

"Caden. He told me that he was going to talk to Cas about this, try and get him to stop. My only guess, is that Caden is tired of following around Cas when he doesn't agree with what he's doing."

Balthazar seemed increasingly annoyed and displeased, but he tried his best to hide most of it. "You know, ever since Caden started hanging around you lot, especially you..." Balthazar pointed at Natalie. "He's been getting more and more into trouble. And now, most likely, he's on Castiel's personal hit list. Guess he learned from the best, hmm?"

Natalie pursed her lips together when she saw Balthazar give her a wide smirk before disappearing. Now, Natalie couldn't help but think about what Caden would be risking if he did go against Castiel. She never told him to do that, but he was going to make his own decision, Natalie couldn't stop him from doing that.

"So, what now?" Natalie asked, looking over at Dean and Bobby.

"We go see Cas, that's what we're going to do." Dean looked back at Bobby and then down at his brother.

Natalie nodded and followed Dean's gaze over to Sam. "I'll go start packing then." Natalie turned around and walked out of the room as Bobby patted Dean on the shoulder.

"I'll go and help her. You stay here with Sam."

….

Natalie picked up the back, swung the strap around her shoulder and walked out of the kitchen as Bobby started making for the front door.

"Why don't you go tell Dean we're ready?" Bobby offered as he pushed open the front door.

Natalie merely nodded as she made her way over to the basement door and walked down the steps. As she made her way towards the panic room, she could see Dean, sitting next to Sam, with the piece of paper in his hand and it looked like he was talking to him.

Stopping at the door, Natalie stood in silence, watching as Dean placed the note and a gun on a small table next to Sam. "Dean?"

Dean paused and looked up.

"We're ready to head out."

Dean quietly nodded and stood up from his chair, looking at Sam for just a brief moment, then quickly walked passed Natalie, out of the panic room and made his way up the steps.

Natalie stood in place though, her eyes moving over Sam's form as she walked into the panic room, dropped her bag next to the empty chair and sat down next to the cot. Her hands rested in her lap as she stared at Sam.

"I'm guessing Dean gave you the address...that's where we're going to be. So you need to wake up, okay? And when you do, you come find us."

Natalie reached over and pulled Sam's hand into her grasp, her thumb brushing over the top of his hand. "Please, Sam. You need to wake up. I know, your mind is probably a real mess right now, but the thing you need to do is wake up...and once that happens, we'll deal whatever happens together."

Hearing her name being called from upstairs, Natalie's time was up, she had to go. Taking in a quiet breath, Natalie stood up and leaned down, pressing her lips against Sam's forehead. Only for a small moment she allowed herself to hold that position and then pulled away, leaning her forehead against his, her hand reaching up to stroke his cheek.

"You come back to me Sam."

Natalie placed another quick kiss to his forehead before moving to pick up her bag. Slinging it back around her shoulder, Natalie took her one last look on Sam and then walked out of the room and ran back up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Dean gently stepped on the breaks, the Impala came to a slow stop, just in the right place that allowed the three of them to get a good look at the building. The three hunters quietly stepped out of the car, making sure to shut the car doors as gently as they could. Bobby pulled out his binoculars and took a quick sweep of the area.<p>

"From what I can see here...there are probably about a dozen of them...maybe even more."

Natalie walked over to Bobby, her brows creased as she looked over at the front lawn of the building. "Wait, like, a dozen demons?"

"No, angels."

"Angels? How in the hell are we supposed to take out a dozen angels?" Dean asked.

"Are you crazy? We don't." Bobby answered after he gave Dean a look. "We do the best thing...we ninja our way in."

"That's an awesome idea." Dean replied sarcastically. "That way the angels will be able to hear your knees squeak."

"Oh, shut up."

Natalie rolled her eyes and shook her head at their little bickering. She toned them out fairly quickly when Dean accused of Bobby of having "thin skin" and Bobby was retorting with something she didn't hear. Though, her brows creased when a very faint and low boom came out of nowhere. She listened for it again and heard the same boom, this time it happened a couple of more times.

"You two hear that?"

Her question silenced Dean and Bobby's little conversation as the three of them caught onto the, now, constant booming that was rippling through the air. The three hunters slowly turned back to look behind them, seeing nothing, except Dean notice that a small puddle was rippling.

"Maybe it's a T-Rex." Dean commented.

Right after Dean's words, the noise grew louder and the ground beneath seemed to start shaking, a lot more violently. They all looked up and saw a large demon smoke cloud and it was coming right towards them.

Natalie's mouth fell slightly agape. "Oh god."

"Get in the car. Get in the car!" Dean called out.

Natalie ran over to the passenger side, threw open the door and slid in. Looking out her window, Natalie could see the smoke cloud was gaining speed and it appeared closer then it was before. Leaning closer towards the window, Natalie could feel her stomach drop as she saw the smoke barreling right at the car.

"Dean!"

Natalie's voice alerted Dean as he looked out the passenger window, his eyes only managed to widen. The car soon was lifted and then toppled over its left side, before finally landing on the top of the car. The front windshield shattered, along with all of the car windows. Glass fragments decorated the concrete and shards of metal were dangling from different parts of the car.

Dean was the first to regain himself, he coughed loudly as he looked from side to side and felt himself disoriented since he was hanging upside down. He groaned as he tried to move his body around, didn't feel like anything was broken. Dean moved his legs around, until he felt himself fall out of his seat, but stopped when the upper part of his back made contact with the roof of the car.

"Bobby?" Dean grunted and coughed a few more times, enabling himself to find his voice. "Bobby!" Dean called out again, this time, effectively waking the older hunter. "You alright?"

Bobby groaned as he tried to loosen himself. "Yeah, I'm good."

Dean looked over at Natalie, seeing that her arms were hanging above her, touching the roof and he could see the stream of blood that was rushing down the side of her face. "Nad?" He reached over and shook her a couple of times. "Nad!"

Natalie gave a quick shake at the volume of Dean's voice and it didn't mix well with this terrible head pain that she woke up to. Natalie brought one of her hands over to the bleeding area and hissed.

"Nad, you alright?" Dean's voice came through again, this time a lot quieter.

"Yeah."

"Okay, come on."

Natalie looked down at her legs, which were being pinned by the crushed dashboard, her hands braced the demolished part as she quickly worked her legs out from underneath. Natalie groaned as her body fell against the roof of the car and crawled her way out through the open window.

Stumbling back to her feet, she turned around and saw that Bobby and Dean were checking each other for any serious injuries. There wasn't much. A few scratches on their faces where broken glass had gotten them. Natalie got the short end, with a nice trail of blood down her face, there were no other serious injuries.

Dean looked over at her and Natalie nodded at him, saying that she was fine. "Alright. Let's get in there."

….

Crowley's voice filtered out into the dark hallway as Dean, Bobby and Natalie got closer to where the source was. Natalie let out a small hiss at the stinging she still felt on her head and pressed her sleeve up to the injury, hoping that it would stop the blood from flowing out.

Dean looked back at Bobby and gave him a nod as he pulled out an angel blade he had swiped from one of the dead angels while they were walking in here. Dean pressed his hand against the half opened door and gently pushed it all the way open.

Natalie followed Bobby and Dean out onto the top of the stairs and in her dazed state of mind, she could hear Crowley chanting the spell, to open Purgatory, but she couldn't really focus on what he was saying. It all sounded kind of like gibberish to her. Natalie looked over at Dean, watching as he raised the angel blade and made his aim before throwing the blade at Raphael.

Natalie's eyes followed the sword only to see Raphael catch it and Natalie's eyes widened. Crowley and Raphael both turn around, spotting the three hunters at the stop of the steps. Crowley raised his hand at them and Natalie fell over the railing and landed right on one of the portable lab tables. Her eyes scrunched closed as she listened to Dean and Bobby being thrown around as well.

Choking out a cry, Natalie painfully moved to the side, only to have her body fall off and land on the ground. Natalie's legs pulled up against her chest, her breaking still screaming from the painful contact it had with a table just a moment ago.

"Sorry you three. I'm a bit busy at the moment." Crowley replied. "Be with you soon."

….

Sam stumbled in his steps, finding it increasingly difficult to keep his balance in check as he took every step. His eyes landed on the demolished Impala, though at first it didn't look like the Impala. It wasn't until Sam stood next to the car and placed his hand on it, he was able to get a clear picture. Looking down to where the passenger window was, Sam could see a small trail of blood leading out and his eyes closed as he dropped to his knees, feeling another memory painfully making its presence.

A hand soon gripped onto Sam's shoulder, causing him to panic. He whipped around quickly, causing his vision to go blurry since the movement was to quick for him to keep up with.

"Sam." Caden's voice echoed throughout Sam's hearing and his eyes blinked up at the angel, until they were able to composite a, somewhat, clear picture of him.

"Caden..." Sam tried to push himself back up to his feet, but failed.

"Sam, just take it easy." Caden grasped Sam by the shoulders, making sure to help keep him at some kind of balanced level. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Sam groaned at the burning that was wrapping around in his head. "Dean...address...left address..."

Caden looked up and saw the building, then back down at Sam when the hunter let out another painful groan.

"You have...to get me in there."

Caden shook his head. "No. That's not a good idea. Sam, you shouldn't even be here, not with your mind falling apart."

Sam reached up with one hand and gripped onto Caden's coat sleeve, his eyes were hardened and he was trying to say something, but was having a difficult time articulating the words. "Get...me in there. D-dean...nad...they need me."

Caden pursed his lips as he looked back up at the building. Knowing the situation, Caden should get Sam back to Bobby's right now, he was in no condition to be out here and frankly, Caden didn't know how Sam even managed to get himself here in the first place. But, Sam seemed like the kind of person who, even though their mind was falling apart, he would fight against you if you tried to stop him from doing what he wanted. Especially when it came to Dean and Natalie. Sam came all the way here, to get to them. To try and take that away from him would be foolish, even in his condition.

Caden looked back down at Sam, then pressed his fingers against the sides of Sam's head. "Sam. Just hold still for a moment."

He went searching through Sam's mind, he could see how Sam woke up in the panic room, by himself and miraculously made his way here. Then, Caden was able to find what was left of Sam's wall, seeing it crumbling into nothing, all memories of hell continuously spilling out. He saw it. The torture and pain that Sam went through. Being stuck in the cage and the senseless torment and agony that Sam was put through. He could physically feel it. The sense that you were never going to leave this place, that dread, filled Caden to his brim. But, the wall, just as Caden had suspected, there was nothing to rebuild. The structure of this mental dam was broken, nothing would be able to sustain it.

Caden pulled his hands away and looked down at Sam, seeing that the hunter didn't seemed to pleased with what he had just done. Well, at least, it seemed like Sam knew what Caden did. Infiltrated his memories.

"Get. Me. In. There." Sam commanded harshly and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. If Caden refused to get him in there, then Sam was just going to have to make his way in himself and the angel seemed to realize this. Caden sighed and grabbed onto Sam's arm, both of them disappearing from the wreckage.

….

Caden had gotten them into the building, just outside of the lab, which was good. If they had just shown up in that room, it probably wouldn't have ended well. The hallway was dark and the only source of light was streaming through the small opening of the lab door. Caden helped Sam up to his feet when a bright light emanated out into the hallway, garnering both Caden and Sam's attention.

Sam tapped Caden on the shoulder and motioned for him to go in, that he would follow in on his own. It was going to take Sam a while to actually find his balance.

Caden nodded and made sure that Sam was somewhat able to hold himself before slowly walking over to the door. As he slowly pushed it open, Castiel's voice filtered out.

_"You can't imagine what it's like. They're all inside me. Millions upon millions of souls._

Caden peered in enough to where he wouldn't be noticed and saw Castiel's back was to him, with Crowley and Raphael standing in front of him. Looking over to his right, Caden spotted Dean, Bobby and Natalie, their eyes wide from what they had seen.

_"Sounds sexy. Exit stage Crowley." _

Caden looked back over, seeing that the demon had left and Raphael looked terrified. That was the first time Caden had ever seen Raphael show that kind of emotion before.

"What's the matter Raphael?" Castiel asked. "Somebdoy clip your wings?"

Caden pushed open the full, enough for him to slip in and began to slowly make his way over to the hunters.

"Castiel, please. You let the demon go, but not your own brother?"

"The demon I have plans for. You on the other hand..."

"Castiel." Caden's voice bounced off the lab walls, garnering every occupants attention. "That's enough."

Castiel slowly turned to him, his expression was calm and slightly off. "Caden." Castiel offered the angel a small smile before snapping his fingers causing Raphael to explode. "It's so nice of you to join us."

Caden's eyes were glued on what remained of Raphael, small and thick chunks of flesh and blood splattered all over the room. "Castiel. What have you done?"

"What I had always planned on doing. I now have the souls...and I was able to save their lives." Castiel looked at Dean, Natalie and Bobby.

"Yeah, you did Cas." Dean said. "Thank you."

"You all doubted me, fought against me, all of you..." Castiel returned his gaze over to Caden. "When I was right all along."

"Yeah, Cas, you were. We're sorry that we doubted you, okay?" Dean said, hoping to sound convincing enough. "Now, let's just diffuse you."

Castiel turned quickly to Dean and narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You're full of nuke. It's not safe for you to remain like this. So, before this eclipse ends, let's put the souls back where they belong."

"Oh no, they belong with me."

Caden took a few steps closer to Castiel, stopping when he looked over at him, "Castiel. It's over. You used the souls to defeat Raphael. That was your plan, right? To make sure that he didn't win the war, well you have that now. There's no more use for these souls, now you need to put them back."

"No, Caden. I'm not finished just yet. Raphael had many followers, people who went against me and I must punish them all."

Caden shook his head. "No. Castiel, you don't have to do that. The only thing you wanted, was for Raphael to be stopped. You stopped him. There's no need for you to go around punishing the other angels."

"Caden's right, Cas." Dean spoke up. "You don't need this anymore. So just let us help you."

"You're only saying this to me because I won...because you all are afraid."

Out of the corner of his eye, Caden spotted Sam walk up behind Castiel, an angel sword in his hand, but before Caden could stop him, Sam embedded the weapon into Castiel's back.

Natalie, who had been silent for most of the time, let out a sharp gasp at seeing Sam sticking the sword in Castiel's back. First, Sam was awake and he was on his feet. Second, he stabbed Castiel. Natalie's wide eyes moved from Sam to Castiel, as the angel pulled the sword out from his back.

"I'm glad you made it, Sam. But, the angel blade won't work on me, because I'm not an angel anymore. I'm your new God. A better one and you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord. Or I will destroy you."

"Castiel." Caden tried again. "Please, this is not you."

"If I recall correctly Caden, you told me earlier, that me pursuing with my plan was me not being, 'Castiel'. Have you changed your mind again?"

The two angels did nothing but stare at each other, both of them silently challenging the other, which Natalie thought was ridiculous. Though, she had to give Caden credit, standing up to the new God like this, even she admitted that she wouldn't have the courage to do that.

"Well, alright then." Bobby said as he got down on his knees. "Is this good or do you want the whole, forehead to the carpet thing?"

Natalie furrowed her brows as she looked at Bobby, only to see him give each of them a look, telling them to do it. Natalie looked back over at Castiel as they began to slowly kneel down, except for Caden.

"Stop." Castiel said. "What's the point if you don't mean it? You fear me. Not love or respect."

Sam decided to test the waters and took a single step closer to him. "Cas, listen..."

"Sam, you have nothing to say to me, you stabbed me in the back."

Natalie stood back up and slowly walked over to Sam and grabbed onto his arm, after seeing the look on Castiel's face as he spoke to him, it sent her nerves on end.

"Castiel, please, you need to let all of this go. Don't go on and make things worse. There still has to be some part of you in there." Caden said.

"The Castiel you all knew is gone. There is no use in trying to stop me. You know you all are powerless and wouldn't dare to fight against me. That would be pointless and stupid of you. You all should be thankful that I don't kill you right now."

"Who the hell are you?" Dean finally asked.

"I'm God. And if you all stay in your place and obey, you may live in my kingdom. But, if you rise up, I will strike you down. Not doing so well, are you Sam?"

Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing that he was faltering in his stance like he was about to pass out. Her hold on his arm tightened as she tried to keep him upright.

"I'm fine...I'm fine." The last part Sam whispered, only Natalie was able to hear and she shook her head at him.

"You're not fine Sam."

Dean gave Castiel a look as he pointed at his brother. "You said that you would fix him. You promised Cas!"

"If you all stood down, which you hardly did."

Natalie looked up at Castiel and huffed out a breath. "Cas. Please. You have to help him, you can't just leave him like this."

Castiel turned his attention over at Natalie and although, initially, she gave a small shake under his stare, ultimately, she was begging him. Not verbally, but, Castiel could see it pouring from her eyes. The desperation that he saw was strong.

"You all will be thankful for my mercy. And I hope you never see me again, for you own benefit."

Castiel turned around back to Caden and slowly walked over to him, standing just a few feet from him. "You and I have a lot to talk about Caden. Let's get started then, shall we?"

Natalie pulled her attention away from Sam and saw Castiel standing in front of Caden. For the first time, she could see actual fear in his eyes. Perhaps not fear of what will happen to him, but fear of what Castiel had become. How crazy he was right now. In Natalie's mind, Castiel was completely psychotic right now.

Castiel raised his hand and gently placed it on Caden's shoulder before they both disappeared. Natalie's eyes widened in panic at the thought that Castiel now had Caden and he was going to do, who knows what.

_What if Castiel starts torturing him? Kill him? Will she ever seen Caden again?_

Natalie was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Sam stumbled and she looked over at him and lost her grip, allowing him to fall to the ground. Natalie immediately followed and heard Sam let out a small cry as he raised his hand to reveal that a shard of glass had embedded in his palm.

Natalie took hold of Sam's hand and gently pulled the piece of glass out and tossed it to the ground. "Sam?" Natalie leaned down more so that she could get of view of Sam's face, only to have him collapse against her, his entire body shaking. "Sam!"

Dean ran over and grabbed Sam under the arm and nodded at Natalie. "Come on Nad, help me get him up." Natalie moved up onto her knees and they both hoisted Sam up, enough to where Dean was able to wrap Sam's arm around his neck while Bobby supported Sam on the other side.

"How are we going to get out of here? The Impala is a total wreck." Natalie brought up as she led them to the lab door.

"We'll take one of the cars out front, saw a few on our way in here." Dean answered.

"Okay, well..." Natalie pushed open the door fully, allowing Dean and Bobby through first with Sam. "Let's just hurry and get him out of here."

Natalie went to follow them, but stopped and looked back into the lab, her eyes scanning over the area and they landed on the spot where Caden was last standing. Her lips pursed together as she thought about what exactly was he going through right now. He went against Castiel and now he was paying for it.

"Hope you'll be okay Caden." Natalie conveyed before walking out of the lab.

* * *

><p><strong>AND THAT'S IT FOR DISTANT SERENITY! WOW! CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER!<strong>

**So, the next story should be posted up, hopefully by this weekend, but I can't guarantee anything. When the new story is up, I'll post a author's note here to remind you all! Until the next story! Xx**


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